JUSTICE  TO  ALL 

The  Story  of  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Police 


DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  POLICE, 
HARRISBURG,  PA. 

THE  general  public  knows  so  little  of  the  organi- 
zation and  daily  work  of  the  State  Police  Force  that  I 
am  grateful  to  Miss  Mayo  for  having  presented  the 
facts  in  such  an  accurate  and  interesting  manner. 

In  a  Force  characterized  by  loyalty,  intelligent  de- 
votion to  duty,  courage,  and  self-sacrifice,  it  is  unfortu- 
nate that  only  a  few  names  could  have  been  mentioned 
in  the  narrative,  as  there  is  not  one  Officer  or  seasoned 
Trooper  in  the  entire  Force  who  has  not  performed 
some  act  of  duty  that  merits  special  commendation. 

JOHN  C.  GROOME, 

Superintendent 

Department  of  State  Police. 

December  i,  1916. 


JUSTICE  TO  ALL 

THE  STORY  OF 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA  STATE  POLICE 


BY 

KATHERINE  MAYO 

WITH   AN   INTRODUCTION   BY 

THEODORE   ROOSEVELT 


ILLUSTRATED 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
ttbe     imfcfcerbocfeer     press 

1917 


COPYRIGHT,  1917 

BY 
KATHERINE  MAYO 


Ubc  imlcfcerbocliet  press,  «ew  Koch 


Co 
"THE  FINEST  THING   IN  THE  WORLD 

AND 

TO  THE   MEN  WHO   LIVE  AND 
DIE  FOR  IT 


355284 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

.  .  .  "protection  is  as  truly  due  from  a  government 
to  the  people  as  obedience  from  the  people  to  the 
government"  .  .  . 

Works.    Edited  by  JOHN  BIGELOW, 
Vol.  II,  page  51. 

EXTRACT  FROM  WILL  OF  STEPHEN  GIRARD. 

...  "To  provide  more  effectually  than  they  now 
do,  for  the  security  of  the  persons  and  property  of  its 
inhabitants  ...  by  a  competent  police,  including  a 
sufficient  number  of  watchmen  really  suited  to  the 
purpose"  .  .  . 

Paragraph  XXIII,  Section  2. 

LORD  BRYCE. 

.  .  .  "The  want  of  a  proper  police  is  apparently  the 
cause  answerable  for  the  train-robberies.  .  .  .  Brigand- 
age is  due  to  the  absence  of  a  mounted  gendarmerie.  .  .  . 
In  the  western  wilds  of  Canada,  however,  the  mounted 
police  secures  perfect  safety  for  wayfarers,  and  train- 
robberies  seem  to  be  unknown.  .  .  .  Why  not  create  an 
efficient  police?"  .  .  . 

American  Commonwealth, 

Vol.  II,  pp.  617-618. 


INTRODUCTION 

To  Americans  one  of  the  unpleasant  features  of 
governmental  advance  during  the  last  thirty  years  has 
been  the  fact  that  most  of  it  has  been  made  outside  of 
the  United  States.  We  usually  have  to  go  to  the  Old 
World,  or  else  to  the  newest  world  of  Australia,  or  else 
to  our  friend  and  neighbor  on  the  north  of  us,  Canada, 
to  help  us  out  in  dealing  with  the  puzzling  and  impor- 
tant problems,  whether  social  or  industrial,  that  confront 
us;  and  the  people  of  the  Old  World  and  the  newest 
world  do  not  often  come  to  us  in  similar  fashion.  If  we 
desire  to  learn  about  cooperative  marketing  for  fann- 
ers, or  industrial  insurance,  or  old  age  pensions,  or  the 
proper  encouragement  and  control  of  corporations,  we 
have  to  go  to  Germany,  or  Denmark,  or  Australia,  or 
some  other  nation.  These  nations  do  not  have  to  come 
to  us. 

There  are,  however,  a  few  exceptions  to  this  rule.  It 
was  this  country  which  led  off  in  the  establishment  of 
the  great  natural  reservations  for  wild  life;  Yellowstone 
Park  can  stand  as  the  type.  Moreover,  much  the 
greatest  State  or  inter-State  park  in  the  neighborhood 
of  a  great  city  is  the  Palisades  Park  near  New  York, 
which,  from  every  standpoint,  is  far  ahead  of  anything 
any  other  country  can  show.  Finally  the  State  Police 
of  Pennsylvania,  under  its  Superintendent,  Major  John 
C.  Groome,  has  furnished  a  model  which  is  to  be  studied 
everywhere;  and  we  Americans  ought  to  be  pleased  that 
it  is  no  longer  necessary  for  us  to  study  the  excellent 

vii 


viii  Introduction 

Canadian  Northwestern  Police,  or  the  excellent  Argen- 
tine Police,  when  we  desire  to  find  how  the  elementary 
needs  of  our  several  States  can  best  be  served  in  the 
matter  of  securing  law,  order,  and  justice. 

The  Pennsylvania  State  Police  is  a  model  of  efficiency, 
a  model  of  honesty,  a  model  of  absolute  freedom  from 
political  contamination.  One  of  the  great  difficulties 
in  our  large  States  has  been  to  secure  an  efficient  policing 
of  the  rural  sections.  In  communities  where  there  are 
still  frontier  conditions,  such  as  Texas  and  Arizona,  the 
need  has  been  partially,  met  by  establishing  bodies 
of  rangers;  but  there  is  no  other  body  so  emphatically 
efficient  for  modern  needs  as  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Police.  I  have  seen  them  at  work.  I  know  personally 
numbers  of  the  men  in  the  ranks.  I  know  some  of  the 
officers.  I  feel  so  strongly  about  them  that  the  mere 
fact  that  a  man  is  honorably  discharged  from  this 
Force  would  make  me  at  once,  and  without  hesitation, 
employ  him  for  any  purpose  needing  courage,  prowess, 
good  judgment,  loyalty,  and  entire  trustworthiness. 
This  is  a  good  deal  to  say  of  any  organization,  and 
I  say  it  without  qualification  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Police. 

The  Force  has  been  in  existence  only  ten  years.  It 
has  cooperated  efficiently  with  the  local  authorities  in 
detecting  crime  and  apprehending  criminals.  It  has 
efficiently  protected  the  forests  and  the  wild  life  of 
the  State.  It  has  been  the  most  powerful  instru- 
ment in  enforcing  law  and  order  throughout  the 
State. 

All  appointments  are  made  after  the  most  careful 
mental  and  physical  examination,  and  upon  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  moral  character,  and  the  past 
record,  of  the  man.  All  promotions  have  been  made 


Introduction  ix 

strictly  from  the  ranks.  The  drill  is  both  mounted  and 
dismounted.  The  men  are  capital  riders,  good  shots, 
and  as  sound  and  strong  in  body  and  mind  as  in 
character. 

This  is  the  Force  which  Katherine  Mayo  describes 
in  a  volume  so  interesting,  and  from  the  standpoint  of 
sound  American  citizenship,  so  valuable  that  it  should 
be  in  every  public  library  and  every  school  library  in  the 
land.  In  the  author's  foreword  the  murder  of  gallant 
young  Howell,  and  the  complete  breakdown  of  justice 
in  reference  thereto  under  our  ordinary  rural  police 
system,  makes  one's  blood  boil  with  anger  at  the  folly 
and  timidity  of  our  people  in  tamely  submitting  to  such 
hideous  conditions,  and  gives  us  the  keenest  gratitude 
to  the  founder  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police.  This 
was  a  case  of  ordinary  crime,  in  which  the  sheriff  and 
county  constable  were  paralyzed  by  fear  of  a  band  of 
gunmen.  Other  forms  of  crime  are  dealt  with  in  con- 
nection with  industrial  disturbances.  The  author 
shows  how  until  the  State  Police  Force  was  established 
the  State,  in  times  of  strikes,  permitted  the  capitalists 
to  furnish  their  own  Coal  and  Iron  Police,  thus  selling 
her  police  power  to  one  of  the  contending  parties,  that 
of  the  vested  interests. 

The  author  also  shows  how  after  the  establishment  of 
the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  this  intolerable  condi- 
tion was  ended ;  local  demagogues  and  foolish  or  vicious 
professional  labor  leaders  in  their  turn  attacked  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Police  with  the  foulest  slander  and 
mendacity,  because  it  did  impartial  justice.  The 
prime  lesson  for  all  true  friends  of  labor  to  learn  is  that 
law  and  order  must  be  impartially  preserved  by  the 
State  as  a  basis  for  securing  justice  through  the  State's 
action.  Justice  must  be  done;  but  the  first — not  only 


x  Introduction 

the  first,  but  a  vital  first— step  towards  realizing  it 
must  be  action  by  the  State,  through  its  own  agents,  not 
by  authority  delegated  to  others,  whereby  lawless  vio- 
lence is  summarily  stopped.  The  labor  leader  who 
attacks  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  because  it 
enforces  the  law  would,  if  successful  in  the  long  run, 
merely  succeed  in  reentrenching  in  power  the  lawless 
capitalists  who  used  the  law-defying  Coal  and  Iron 
Police. 

No  political  influence  or  other  influence  avails  to  get 
a  single  undesirable  man  on  the  Force,  or  to  keep  a  man 
on  the  Force  who  has  proved  himself  unfit.  I  am 
informed  and  I  fully  believe,  that  not  a  single  appoint- 
ment has  ever  been  made  for  political  reasons.  The 
efficiency  with  which  the  Force  does  its  duty  is  extra- 
ordinary. Any  man  who  sees  the  troopers  patrolling 
the  country  can  tell  from  the  very  look  of  the  men 
what  invaluable  allies  they  are  to  the  cause  of  law 
and  order.  In  the  year  1915  the  Force  made  3027 
arrests  and  secured  2348  convictions — 80%  of  con- 
victions. The  men  are  so  trained  and  schooled  in  the 
criminal  laws  of  the  State  that  they  know  just  what 
evidence  is  necessary.  They  deal  admirably  with  riots. 
Perhaps  there  is  nothing  that  they  do  better  than  the 
protection  of  women  in  sparsely  populated  neighbor- 
hoods. Small  wonder  that  the  criminal  and  disorderly 
classes  dread  them  and  eagerly  hope  for  their  dis- 
banding! 

Year  by  year  the  efficiency  of  the  Force  has  increased 
and  its  usefulness  has  correspondingly  increased.  All 
good  citizens  in  Pennsylvania  should  heartily  support 
the  Pennsylvania  State  Police.  The  sooner  all  our 
other  States  adopt  similar  systems,  the  better  it  will  be 
for  the  cause  of  law  and  order,  and  for  the  upright 


Introduction  xi 

administration  of  the  laws  in  the  interests  of  justice 
throughout  the  Union. 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 


SAGAMORE  HILL, 
November  10,  1916. 


FOREWORD 

This  book  is  the  fruit  of  a  tragedy. 

Three  years  and  more  ago,  with  simple  devotion  and 
with  courage  beyond  all  praise,  a  young  American 
laboring  man  laid  down  his  life  for  his  trust.  An  act 
comparable  to  his  that  should  now  occur  on  the  Euro- 
pean front  would  be  rewarded  with  public  honors.  But 
this  man,  who  without  the  stimulus  of  any  excitement 
rose  to  heights  of  heroism  from  the  common  plane  of 
daily  life,  left  no  memory  behind. 

Samuel  Howell  was  an  lowan  farmer's  son.  By  in- 
dustry, intelligence,  and  honest  dealing  he  had  worked 
himself  up  through  the  carpentry  trade  to  the  place  of 
builders'  foreman.  On  the  day  of  his  death  he  had 
charge  of  an  important  piece  of  construction  in  a  rural 
part  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Early  one  Saturday  morning,  on  his  way  to  his  work, 
Howell  was  ambushed  by  four  men  who  demanded 
the  week's  pay-roll.  The  four  brandished  revolvers. 
Howell  was  alone  and  unarmed.  But,  no  matter  what 
the  odds,  it  was  impossible  to  that  boy  to  surrender  a 
charge.  So  he  drove  his  motor  cycle  straight  through 
the  gang,  who  emptied  their  revolvers  into  his  body 
from  a  distance  of  two  paces. 

Bleeding  from  seven  mortal  wounds,  Howell  guided 
his  machine  over  a  thousand  yards  of  rough  road,  to 
the  construction  site.  There  he  kept  grip  on  his  con- 
sciousness until  he  had  turned  over  the  heavy  pay-roll 


Foreword 

to  a  responsible  man;  until  he  had  made  careful  record, 
for  his  successor's  use,  of  certain  structural  weaknesses 
in  the  work  that  he  alone  knew  and  that  otherwise 
might  be  neglected;  and  until,  by  name  and  by  number, 
he  had  positively  identified  two  of  his  murderers  as 
laborers  who  had  been  employed  for  a  month  on  the  job. 

Then  he  collapsed.    Three  days  later  he  died. 

A  clearer  case. of  identification,  an  easier  case  to 
handle,  will  never  occur  in  the  history  of  crime.  Both 
of  the  identified  men  were  Italians.  One,  a  character 
well-known  in  the  region  as  well  as  to  every  man  on  the 
construction,  had  red  hair,  a  conspicuous  scar  on  his 
cheek,  and  a  pock-marked  skin.  All  four  spent  some 
hours,  and  in  all  likelihood  the  entire  day,  lying  in  a 
small  islet  of  woods  surrounded  by  open  fields,  practi- 
cally on  the  scene  of  their  crime.  But  no  attempt 
was  made  to  arrest  them  throughout  that  day.  No 
bar  was  put  in  the  way  of  their  escape.  And  up  to 
the  present  moment  no  punishment  has  been  visited 
upon  any  one  of  them. 

This  statement  I  make  without  qualification,  for  the 
reason  that  I  spent  the  entire  day  of  the  murder  on  the 
spot,  and  was  personally  cognizant  of  all  that  was  done 
and  left  undone. 

I  saw  the  complete  break-down  of  the  sheriff-constable 
system.  Both  county  sheriff  and  village  constables, 
present  on  the  scene,  proved  utterly  unrelated  to  the 
emergency,  and  for  reasons  perfectly  clear.  I  saw  the 
group  of  twenty  or  more  Union  workmen,  encircled  by 
twice  their  number  of  unskilled  helpers,  standing  with 
hands  down.  And  I  heard  those  Union  men  refuse 
even  to  surround  the  islet  of  woods,  a  thousand  yards 
distant,  in  which  the  murderers  of  their  comrade  were 
hiding. 


Foreword  xv 

"We  earn  our  living  on  country  jobs,  among  men 
like  these,"  said  the  carpenter-boss,  nodding  toward 
the  listening  foreigners.  "Knives  and  guns  are  their 
playthings  and  when  they  want  me  they'll  get  me,  just 
as  they  got  poor  Howell.  We  have  to  think  of  our 
families.  We  can't  afford  to  earn  gunmen's  ill-will. 
There  is  no  protection  in  the  country  districts.  Sheriffs 
and  constables  don't  help  us  at  all.  Howell  was  only  a 
working  man.  You'll  have  forgotten  him  in  a  month. " 

But  it  was  impossible  to  forget.  The  truth  is  too 
hideous — the  truth  that  in  the  great  rural  State  of  New 
York  protection  of  life  and  property  is  a  private  luxury, 
to  be  obtained  only  by  those  rich  enough  to  pay  for  it — 
the  truth  that  the  man  carrying  a  dinner-pail,  the 
farmer  driving  home  from  the  store  at  dusk,  the  woman 
alone  in  an  isolated  homestead,  are  as  safe  and  easy 
prey  to  criminal  attack  as  if  they  moved  in  the  wilds  of 
Mexico. 

And,  just  as  it  was  impossible  to  forget,  so  was  it 
impossible  to  remain  inactive, — to  remain  an  idle  con- 
niver  in  the  toleration  of  such  a  disgrace.  In  Penn- 
sylvania, I  heard,  the  State  years  ago  had  honorably 
acknowledged  her  duty  to  protect  all  her  people  in  her 
peace;  and  to  that  end  had  established  a  rural  patrol 
known  as  the  State  Police.  Finding  but  little  in  print 
concerning  this  force,  and  finding,  also,  but  vague 
notions  of  its  work  afloat,  I  therefore  went  to  Penn- 
sylvania to  study  the  facts  at  first  hand.  This  book  is 
an  attempt  to  bring  the  facts  nearer  to  public  reach. 

The  subject  is  far  too  large  for  any  one  volume. 
Much  of  vital  importance  has  been  omitted  for  lack 
of  space.  Much  of  vital  interest  awaits  occasion  to 
be  heard.  Many  fields  of  usefulness  fulfilled,  many 
examples  of  high  service  performed,  many  deeds  of 


xvi  Foreword 

superlative  gallantry,  devotion  and  wit,  gloriously  ac- 
complished by  the  men  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Police,  are  here  perforce  passed  by  without  a  word. 

The  work  of  investigation  has  been  one  of  great 
pleasure— a  pleasure  doubled  by  the  friendly  and  gen- 
erous spirit  met  on  every  side.  I  express  with  sincere 
gratitude  my  appreciation  for  the  unfailing  courtesy  of 
the  Superintendent  of  State  Police  and  of  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  Squadron;  of  the  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  and  of  each  Head  of  Department,  with- 
out exception,  in  the  Government  of  that  Common- 
wealth; of  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  of  the 
Judges  of  those  County  Courts  in  which  State  Police 
cases  most  frequently  appear;  for  the  enthusiasm  and 
help  of  the  clergy;  for  the  clear,  emphatic,  and  detailed 
opinions  so  cordially  rendered  by  District  Attorneys, 
Sheriffs  and  County  Controllers  all  over  the  State;  and, 
not  least,  for  the  liberal  assistance  of  the  officers  of  the 
National  Guard. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  make  known  a  letter  written 
by  the  late  Honorable  Seth  Low,  by  him  given  to  me  for 
such  use. 

Mr.  Low  was  acquainted  with  every  detail  of  Samuel 
HowelTs  murder  before  the  sun  had  set  that  day,  and 
his  long  identification  and  sympathy  with  the  interests 
of  Labor  made  him  peculiarly  sensible  to  the  appeal  of 
the  case.  The  terrible  words:  "He  was  only  a  working 
man.  You'll  have  forgotten  him  in  a  month,"  cut 
the  humanitarian  to  the  quick;  and  the  later  move- 
ment to  secure  legislation  creating  a  State  Police  for 
the  protection  of  rural  New  York  had  his  earnest 
support. 

When  the  Horton-Wells  Bill  was  pending  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  1916,  Mr.  Low  addressed  this  letter  to  the 


Foreword  xvii 

Honorable  Charles  S.  Whitman,  Governor  of  the  State 
of  New  York: 

April  5,  1916. 

MY  DEAR  GOVERNOR: 

You  will  be  sorry  to  hear  that  I  am  still  far  from  well. 
My  interest  in  the  State  Constabulary  Bill,  however,  is  so 
keen  that  I  venture  to  write  you  this  letter  to  express  my 
pleasure  in  the  stand  you  have  taken  upon  it,  from  which 
I  hope  you  will  allow  no  consideration  whatever  to  shake 
you.  If  you  lived  as  I  do,  during  several  months  of  the 
year,  in  one  of  the  country  districts  of  the  State,  you  would 
appreciate  the  absolute  necessity  for  a  State  Constabulary. 
It  is  not  tolerable  that  the  State  should  fail  to  offer  to  the 
rural  regions  the  police  protection  which  experience  in  all 
parts  of  the  State  proves  to  be  desirable. 

With  kind  regards  I  am  always, 

Sincerely  yours, 

SETH  Low. 

At  the  moment  of  writing  Mr.  Low  was  already 
stricken  with  his  last  illness,  and  was  physically  too  weak 
even  to  receive  his  friends.  Only  by  a  tax  upon  his 
reserve  did  he  summon  strength  to  dictate  and  sign 
the  message  that  now  stands  clothed  with  all  the 
solemn  dignity  of  a  last  public  act. 

K.  M. 

BEDFORD  HILLS,  N.  Y., 
November,  1916. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION       .......  vii 

FOREWORD    ........  xiii 

CHAPTER 

I. — THE  CALL  OF  HONOR      .         .         .         .  i 

II. — A  CAPTAIN  OF  HORSE      .         .         .         .11 

III. — ENTER,  THE  BLACK  HUSSARS     .         .         .  .  24 

IV. — THE  STATE  MADE  VISIBLE       ...  40 

V. — WHO  STANDS  FOR  THE  LAW?             .         .  58 

VI. — SWORD  AND  SCALES          ....  73 

VII.— A  SERGEANT  OF  TROOP  "A"   ...  87 

VIII. — As  THE  RED  DOG  RUNS           ...  99 

IX. — THE  BLACK  HAND            .         .         .         .  114 

X. — "A  LYING  TONGUE  Is  BUT  FOR  A  MOMENT"  126 

XI. — ISAIAH  WEDGE         .         .         .         .         .  140 

XII. — HORSE  THIEVES,  ROBBERS,  AND  WRATH     .  153 

XIII. — THE  PHILADELPHIA  CAR  STRIKE         .         .171 

XIV. — IN    DANGER,    NECESSITY,    AND    TRIBULA- 
TION      188 

xix 


xx  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XV. — THE  COSSACK  HORDE      .....     209 

XVI.— THE  TABLES  TURNED      .         .         .         .227 

XVII.— CITIES  AND  WASTE  PLACES      .         .         .244 

XVIII.— EVERY  MAN'S  FRIEND     ,         .         .         .258 

XIX.— PLOWSHARE  AND  SWORD  .         .         .         .274 

XX. — FOUNDATIONS  OF  ROCK    ....     289 

XXI. — SUBSTATION  AND  PATROL          .         .         .     304 

XXII.— LITTLE  STORIES  OF  THE  FIELD          .         .315 

CONCLUSION          . 329 

APPENDIX  A         ....         .         .         .     337 

APPENDIX  B 340 

APPENDIX  C        ..         ...         .         .         .     343 

APPENDIX  D         .         .         .         .         .         .         .     347 

INDEX          .  .         .         .         .         .     357 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

MAJOR  JOHN  C.  GROOME      .         .          .     Frontispiece 
Superintendent,  Department  of  State  Police. 

COLONEL    THEODORE    ROOSEVELT   THE   GUEST   OF 

TROOP  "B"    .  4 

THE  UNIFORM  OF  THE  STATE  POLICE    ...       30 
COMRADES    ........       84 

AT  "A"  TROOP  BARRACKS 148 

CAPTAIN  LYNN  G.  ADAMS     .         .         .         .         .214 

Commanding  "  A  "  Troop. 

DAY  BEGINS 230 

FOUR  NON-COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS      .         .         .    294 
A  SHARP  EMBARRASSMENT 316 


XXI 


JUSTICE  TO  ALL 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CALL  OF  HONOR 

IN  the  year  of  confusion,  1902,  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania fell  victim  to  what  was  perhaps  the  most  serious 
and  distressful  industrial  disturbance  yet  known  to 
our  history.  The  great  Anthracite  Strike,  begun  on 
May  1 2th  of  that  year,  lasted  until  the  23d  of  the  fol- 
lowing October.  It  destroyed  the  equilibrium  of  the 
State  at  large;  it  wrecked  the  peace  of  seven  counties; 
it  took  its  toll  of  human  lives,  and  sowed  its  harvest 
of  pregnant  bitterness.  It  cost  the  striking  miners 
and  their  associates  some  $25,000,000  in  wages;  it 
impoverished  their  relief  fund  by  the  amount  of 
$1,800,000;  it  cost  the  coal  companies  $46,100,000  in 
estimated  reduced  production;  it  cost  the  transporta- 
tion companies  about  $28,000,000*  in  freight  losses; 
and  it  penalized  the  country  at  large  by  a  coal  famine 
and  an  advance  in  the  price  of  anthracite.  Besides 
all  this,  it  forced  the  State,  in  defense  of  her  laws  and 
her  dignity,  to  call  out  her  entire  division  of  National 
Guard,  at  an  expense  of  $996,052.55  of  the  people's 
money.  And  who  shall  presume  to  reckon  the  indi- 

xPor  this  and  preceding  figures,  see  report  of  the  Anthracite  Coal 
Strike  Commission,  Bulletin  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  No.  46,  May, 
1903. 

I 


.-ustice  to  All 


vidual  hardship,  the  far-reaching  loss  to  nearly  nine 
thousand  guardsmen,  citizens  of  the  State,  suddenly 
snatched  from  their  own  proper  work  and  moving 
fortunes? 

"Troops  had  been  on  duty  for  one  hundred  and  five 
days;  some  commands  had  served  for  ninety  days 
continuously/*  asserted  the  Adjutant  General  in  his 
subsequent  report.  "To  call  men  away  from  their 
varied  professions,  business,  and  employment,  without 
warning  or  opportunity  to  make  arrangements  for  so 
prolonged  an  absence,  required  a  great  sacrifice  on  the 
part  of  many  officers  and  men  .  .  .  nor  was  ever  duty 
more  exacting." 

Aside  from  the  National  Guard,  and  aside  from  the 
old  sheriff-constable  system,  whose  power,  to  condi- 
tions like  those  of  the  summer  of  1902,  is  as  the  power 
of  a  straw  to  a  hurricane,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
provided  one  other  agency  for  the  enforcement  of  her 
laws  in  the  coal  fields.  She  provided  the  Coal  and 
Iron  Police.  In  time  of  turmoil,  when  the  laboring 
masses  rocked  in  mortal  deadlock  with  the  vested 
interests,  the  State  stepped  in  to  prove  her  impartial 
justice  by  selling  her  authority  into  the  vested  interests' 
hands! 

In  specific  terms,  the  State  sold  to  the  mine  owners, 
whenever  they  chose  to  ask  for  them,  for  the  sum  of 
one  dollar  apiece,  commissions  conferring  police  powers 
upon  men  selected,  paid,  and  kept  by  the  corporations. 

Therefore  whenever  the  miners  elected  to  go  out 
on  strike  pending  the  adjustment  of  a  dispute  with 
their  employers,  they  invariably  found  the  power  of 
the  State  bought,  paid  for,  and  fighting  as  a  partisan 
on  their  employers'  side. 

Nor  was  any  attempt  made  to  do  this  monstrous 


The  Call  of  Honor  3 

thing  under  mask  of  decency.  Common  gunmen  and 
the  dissolute  riffraff  of  stables  and  bar-rooms  were 
as  eligible  for  a  State  commission  as  anyone  else.  And 
when  these  followed  their  own  interest  by  fomenting 
the  troubles  that  gave  them  office  they  were  merely 
doing  what  could  have  been  foretold  of  them  with 
certainty  a  hundred  years  in  advance. 

In  October,  1902,  when  the  National  Guard  of  the 
State  had  been  for  three  months  camped  over  against 
the  idle  miners,  the  deadlock  was  at  last  broken  by 
the  intervention  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Theodore  Roosevelt  appointed  an  arbitration  board, 
whose  deliberations  John  Mitchell,  president  of  the 
United  Mine  Workers  of  America,  agreed  that  the 
miners  should  await,  the  latter  returning  meantime 
to  work  and  thereby  releasing  the  National  Guard 
from  its  improper  and  irksome  duty. 

The  arbitration  board  received  the  title  of  "The 
Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission."  Its  personnel 
was  such  as  to  command  both  confidence  and  respect. 
Accepted  by  both  sides,  it  met  in  Washington  on  Octo- 
ber 24,  1902,  and  began  its  investigations. 

Throughout  the  winter  of  1902-3,  the  Commission 
patiently  and  thoroughly  pursued  its  task.  On  March 
1 8,  1903,  it  presented  to  President  Roosevelt  as  its 
report  a  document  of  vital  and  enduring  significance. 

It  had  heard,  it  affirmed,  the  testimony  and  the 
complaints  of  all  three  sides  of  the  great  strike — those 
of  the  union  men,  of  the  non-union  men,  and  of  the 
employers.  It  had  weighed  the  elements  in  the  case 
with  the  factors  of  irritation.  It  recognized  the  justice 
of  many  of  the  miners'  claims,  and  awarded  accordingly. 
It  recognized  the  necessity,  on  the  part  of  the  coal 
operators,  of  employing  deputies,  armed  guards — "Coal 


4  Justice  to  All 

and  Iron  Police"— to  protect  their  collieries.  And 
it  marked,  also,  that  while  under  existing  conditions 
such  necessity  must  continue  to  prevail,  it  nevertheless 
worked  injustice  and  contained  the  seed  of  grave  evil. 
It  branded  the  history  of  the  strike  as  "stained  with 
a  record  of  riot  and  bloodshed,"  by  cruel,  cowardly, 
and  uncivilized  practices,  and  added  that  "the  resent- 
ment expressed  by  many  persons  connected  with  the 
strike  at  the  presence  of  the  armed  guards  and  militia 
of  the  State  does  not  argue  well  for  the  peaceable 
character  or  purposes  of  such  persons."  It  attested 
that  the  leaders  of  the  organization  who  began  the 
strike  had  exhorted  their  followers  to  sobriety  and 
moderation,  but  it  pointed  out,  also,  that  the  leaders 
of  the  subordinate  local  organizations  had  paid  but 
scant  regard  to  such  counsels.  And  it  argued  that 
when,  during  consequent  outrages,  the  higher  element 
stands  quietly  and  silently  by,  while  the  lawless  do 
their  worst,  it  thereby  tacitly  aids  and  abets  the  evil. 
It  recognized  the  wide  beneficence  of  the  wisely 
guided  labor  union,  and  recognized,  also,  "the  coercion 
of  employers  which  a  strike  always  contemplates" 
as  facilitated  by  the  use  of  threats,  intimidation,  and 
violence.  It  proclaimed,  however,  without  a  qualify- 
ing clause,  that  "a  labor  or  other  organization  whose 
purpose  can  be  accomplished  only  by  the  violation  of 
law  and  order  of  society,  has  no  right  to  exist."  It 
weighed  much  evidence  as  to  the  worth  of  existing 
machinery  for  the  general  preservation  of  the  laws  and 
peace  of  the  Commonwealth — and  just  here  the  ground 
suddenly  yawned  before  its  feet ;  it  gazed  into  a  great 
void.  Practically,  the  existing  machinery  had  no 
worth  whatever! 

Confronted  by  this  spectacle,  the  Commission  had 


o   »-»s 

O      •   2 


£  i 

H      *B 

H  -•§ 


The  Call  of  Honor  5 

plumbed,  pondered.  Now  it  delivered  its  conclusion 
in  gravely  considered  terms:  The  State  herself  stood 
guilty  before  the  world.  The  State  had  shirked  her 
vital  duty  to  enforce  her  own  laws  with  her  own  hand, 
at  all  times  and  seasons,  and  to  protect  all  her  people 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  peace.  "  Peace  and  order," 
it  declared,  "should  be  maintained  at  any  cost,  but 
should  be  maintained  by  regularly  appointed  and  re- 
sponsible officers  ...  at  the  expense  of  the  public." 

Instead  of  this,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  had  turned 
her  duty  into  paltry  merchandise  and  had  sold  it  into 
private  hands! 

Therefore  President  Roosevelt's  Anthracite  Strike 
Commission  wrote  as  the  very  first  of  its  general  re- 
commendations a  clear  call  for  legislative  action  creat- 
ing a  proper  executive  arm  to  enforce  the  laws  with 
impartial  might — a  call  in  the  name  of  peace,  justice, 
and  the  honor  of  the  State,  and  of  the  equal  good  of  all 
men,  for  the  creation  of  a  new  thing  in  the  land — for 
the  creation  of  a  State  Police. 

Samuel  Whitaker  Pennypacker,  the  new  Governor 
of  the  Commonwealth,  might  have  taken  all  summer 
to  think  it  over — might,  in  fact,  have  taken  still  another 
twelvemonth,  since  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania 
meets  only  on  alternate  years.  But  Samuel  Whitaker 
Pennypacker  did  not  need  the  time.  His  mind  was 
already  made  up.  He  had  worked  it  out  before. 

In  the  year  1903,  when  I  assumed  the  office  of-  Chief 
Executive  of  the  State  [he  later  liked  to  recount]  I  found 
myself  thereby  invested  with  supreme  executive  authority. 
I  found  that  no  power  existed  to  interfere  with  me  in  my 
duty  to  enforce  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  that,  by  the  same 
token,  no  conditions  could  release  me  from  my  duty  so  to  do. 


6  Justice  to  All 

I  then  looked  about  to  see  what  instruments  I  possessed 
wherewithal  to  accomplish  this  bounden  obligation — what 
instruments  on  whose  loyalty  and  obedience  I  could  truly 
rely.  And  I  perceived  three  such  instruments— my  private 
secretary,  a  very  small  man,  my  woman  stenographer, 
and  the  janitor,  a  negro.  So,  I  made  the  State  Police. 


For  several  good  reasons  Governor  Pennypacker  was 
essentially  the  Exequtive-to  fix  of  original  motion  upon 
this  step.  A  marked  eccentric,  greatly  misunderstood, 
and  with  some  passages  in  his  political  career  that  are 
difficult  to  explain,  He  nevertheless  was  a  man  of  intense 
devotion  to  the  ideals  that  he  cherished,  and  of  ada- 
mantine firmness  of  will  and  courage  to  defend  those 
ideals  against  all  comers.  Governor  Pennypacker 
had  been  for  nearly  forty  years  a  member  of  the  bar 
of  Pennsylvania,  while  for  fourteen  years  he  had  ren- 
dered verdicts  from  the  bench;  therefore  he  possessed 
a  logical  and  deliberative  mind.  Governor  Penny- 
packer  was  a  student  and  writer  of  Pennsylvania  his- 
tory; therefore  he  abounded  in  knowledge  of  causes 
back  of  present  social  aspects  in  the  State.  Governor 
Pennypacker  came  of  old  Pennsylvania-German  stock; 
therefore  he  was  a  lover  of  established  and  prosperous 
peace.  Governor  Pennypacker,  finally,  was  first  and 
last  a  farmer,  of  traditional  farming  blood;  therefore 
his  sympathies  lay  with  the  farmers  and  he  realized 
with  a  deep  and  personal  conviction  how  illogical,  how 
unjust,  and  how  dangerous  was  the  flaccid  ignoring  by 
the  State  of  the  rights  of  her  country  people  to  protec- 
tion under  those  laws  and  under  that  government  of 
whose  stability  they  themselves  were  always  the  firmest 
supports. 

Other  thinkers  had  seen  the  lack,  the  wrong,  the  grow- 


The  Call  of  Honor  7 

ing  menace,  before  the  farmer-Governor's  day.  But, 
in  a  conservative  old  society  like  Pennsylvania's, 
much  consideration,  much  endurance,  much  passive 
resistance  to  the  changing  of  Things  As  They  Are 
precedes  all  movement  of  reform;  and  yet  the  case 
loomed  strong  and  clear. 

The  State's  area  comprises  44,832  square  miles. 
In  this  area  lie  two  large  cities,  each  with  its  own  police, 
— modern  forces  planned  to  meet  the  need  of  modern 
times.  Outside  these  cities  stretches  the  broad  rural 
State — sixty-five  out  of  the  sixty-seven  component 
counties.  And  the  sixty-five  great  rural  counties, 
except  within  the  narrow  limits  of  their  towns  and 
incorporated  villages,  spread  as  free  to  marauding 
criminals  as  the  air  is  free  to  hawks. 

And  how  did  it  come  about?  Were  the  founders  of 
the  State  such  curious  cockneys  as  to  forget  the  country- 
folk? On  the  contrary,  the  founders  were  country-folk 
themselves  and  held  the  farmer  the  spine  of  the  body 
politic.  But  the  days  of  the  founders  were  days  when 
the  mass  of  the  people  came  of  generations  of  law-rever- 
ing stock,  days  of  simple  history  and  of  peace.  To 
such  days  was  the  old  scheme  suited.;  In  such  days 
the  county  sheriff  with  his  deputies,  the  village  constable 
with  his  little  powers,  amply  sufficed  to  symbolize 
Law's  majesty — and  the  symbol  was  enough. 

But  with  passing  years  all  this  had  changed — changed 
in  part  through  an  influx  of  foreign  immigration  great 
and  greater  in  numbers,  less  and  lesser  in  understand- 
ing of  our  ways  of  thought.  To  such  an  immigration, 
liberty  had  no  meaning  other  than  gross  license,  and 
it  gave  incredulous  laughter  to  the  notion  of  invisibly 
guarded  law.  Looking  about  them,  these  men  saw 
no  gendarmerie,  no  carabinieri,  no  uniformed  patrol 


8  Justice  to  All 

upon  the  road;  from  which  they  joyfully  drew  an 
invitation  to  make  of  the  Decalogue  a  daily  sacrifice. 
And  the  unassimilated  mass,  sifting  among  the 
older  settlements,  had  altered  the  complexion  of 
nearly  all. 

Then,  again,  modern  inventions  of  rapid  transit 
had  marvelously  conspired  to  increase  the  area  and 
to  change  the  shapes  of  crime.  Aided  by  these  means 
the  criminal  could  operate  on  a  scale  and  with  a  range 
impossible  before.  Striking  like  a  hawk  from  the 
blue,  the  human  hawk  had  vanished  with  his  quarry 
far  into  trackless  space,  long  before  the  sheriff,  half  a 
county  distant,  could  start  on  his  hopeless  pursuit. 
As  for  the  constable,  good  honest  man,  he  would  be 
somewhere  over  the  fields  peddling  his  cabbage  crop, 
or  attending  his  G.  A.  R.  Post,  or  painting  a  distant 
fence;  while  the  justice  of  the  peace,  who  must  issue 
a  warrant  before  this  constable  could  act  at  all,  was  in 
all  probability  away  in  the  city  on  business  or  gone  on 
a  trip  to  Niagara  Falls. 

The  city  dweller,  hearing  alarms  at  night,  could  put 
his  head  out  at  window,  shout  "Police!"  and  see  a 
squad  on  his  doorstep  forthwith;  for  him  "the  Law 
vindicates  her  sanctity."  But  the  country-dweller, 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  might  better  pocket  his  loss 
in  silence,  knowing  that  for  him  the  Law  was  a  poor, 
blind  old  cripple,  while  the  law-breaker,  raging  abroad 
with  all  the  vengeful  boldness  of  impunity,  chose  what 
and  when  he  would  devour. 

"Is  this  right?  Is  this  tolerable?"  Judge  Penny- 
packer  had  been  wont  to  ask  himself  these  many  years. 
And  he  brooded,  too,  on  the  iniquity  of  the  Coal  and 
Iron  Police. 

Then,  with  the  great  Anthracite  Strike  of  1902,  the 


The  Call  of  Honor  9 

scandal  of  the  Coal  and  Iron  Police  blazed  up  afresh 
before  the  publicist's  gaze. 

In  the  year  of  Governor  Penny-packer's  accession 
these  strange  and  hybrid  officers,  to  the  number  of 
about  five  thousand,  held  commissions,  and  their 
commissions  bore  no  time  limit.  They  were  rapidly 
becoming  an  army,  and,  quite  regardless  of  their  in- 
dividual characters,  good  or  bad,  they  constituted  a 
blighting  reproach  to  the  State. 

"The  exercise  of  the  power  to  enforce  its  laws  is  one 
of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  should  be  performed  by  the  State  only,"  said 
Governor  Pennypacker.  "If  the  State  does  not  her- 
self see  to  it  that  her  peace  is  maintained  she  fails  in 
her  first  duty."  And  what  he  said  he  meant  with  all 
his  soul  and  strength. 

Thus  the  judicial  farmer-Governor  and  the  Presi- 
dent's Commission,  traversing  different  avenues,  came 
to  identical  verdicts  on  the  evidence  in  the  case: 

LET  THERE   BE  A   STATE  POLICE! 

The  Commission  could  only  recommend.  But  the 
Pennsylvanian  Executive  was  an  executive  indeed  in 
every  sense  of  the  term.  He  had  conceived  a  new  ideal. 
He  had  set  himself  a  new  task.  He  saw,  by  inner  vision, 
a  new  and  perfect  thing  in  the  world.  That  thing  he 
was  determined  to  grasp  and  bring  into  visibility,  for 
the  honor  and  blessing  of  his  beloved  Pennsylvania. 
His  mind  was  fixed,  and  the  coming  Legislature,  he 
swore  to  himself,  should  not  dissolve  until  his  vision 
was  realized. 

The  thing  was  not  easily  done.  There  was  much 
resistance,  active  and  passive,  and  much  fear  that  to 


io  Justice  to  All 

create  another  department  could  mean  only  to  create 
another  crop  of  political  plums  and  another  drain  upon 
the  treasury.  But  the  Governor,  with  his  ideal  in 
mind,  and  viewing  the  needs  of  all  elements  of  the 
people,  saw  the  aggregate  as  an  imperative  demand. 
His  will  stood  firm,  and  his  will  prevailed. 

On  the  second  day  of  May,  1905,  Samuel  Whi taker 
Pennypacker  signed  ^the  Act  that  of  itself  alone  was  to 
make  him  a  notable  figure  in  American  history. 


CHAPTER  II 

A  CAPTAIN  OF  HORSE 

THE  Act  creating  the  Department  of  State  Police 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  was  a  brief  and  simple 
document.1  The  law  was  very  loosely  drawn — pur- 
posely so,  of  well  considered  intent.  The  work  that 
it  was  designed  to  institute  was  entirely  experimental, 
creative.  A  new  organization  had  to  be  devised  to  fit 
the  particular  conditions  that  it  would  be  called  upon 
to  handle.  The  requirements  of  those  conditions 
could  be  accurately  visualized  and  worked  out  by  one 
man  only,  the  man  at  the  head  of  the  organization; 
and  the  whole  fate  of  the  undertaking,  for  better  or 
for  worse,  must  therefore  hang  upon  the  character, 
the  inspiration  of  that  one  man.  Moreover,  for  a  task 
so  new,  the  selection  of  the  man  must  of  course  be  some- 
what of  a  lottery.  From  such  premises  the  Governor 
arrived  at  the  old  conclusion  often  evoked  by  similar  prob- 
lems— "A  loose  law  gives  a  good  man  rein  the  quicker 
to  make  good,  while  it  gives  the  bad  man  rope  the 
quicker  to  hang  himself  and  so  have  done  with  him." 

The  passage  of  this  measure  aroused  attention  all 
over  the  Union,  attention  expressed  in  terms  that 
exhibited  Pennsylvania's  step  as  merely  an  early  crys- 
tallization of  a  general  need  and  thought.  The  New 
York  Evening  Post,  in  a  long  editorial  devoted  to  the 
event,  said: 

1  See  Appendix  A. 

II 


12  Justice  to  All 

The  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  has  passed  a  law  which 
should  be  of  very  great  interest  to  the  entire  country  .  .  . 
for  the  purpose  of  preserving  peace  and  order  in  the  rural 
districts  of  the  Commonwealth.  .  .  .  Even  in  New  York 
there  could  be  found  plenty  of  use  for  such  a  constabulary. 
...  It  is  amazing  that  the  experiment  has  been  so  long 
delayed. 

The  Springfield  Republican  welcomed  a  forward  step 
in  our  national  civilization. 

The  St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press,  speaking  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  Minnesota's  widespread  farms  and  ham- 
lets, acclaimed  the  news: 

The  scheme  is  a  valuable  one.  .  .  .  Outside  of  cities 
there  is  little  protection  against  crime  and  lawlessness, 
even  the  village  constables  accomplishing  little,  while  the 
strictly  rural  districts  are  without  any  protection.  There 
is  no  one  to  detect  or  pursue  criminals  from  county  to 
county,  except  the  posse  which  is  never  organized  except 
to  run  down  the  perpetrator  of  some  particularly  atrocious 
crime.  There  is  no  posse  that  can  be  sent  from  point  to 
point  to  preserve  order  at  times  of  exceptional  excitement 
except  the  militia.  A  force  of  police  under  control  of  the 
Governor  would  meet  all  these  needs;  and  there  is  little 
doubt  that  before  long  even  Minnesota  will  find  a  State 
police  force  desirable. 

The  Chicago  Tribune  takes  a  general  view,  ending 
with  an  inclusive  opinion: 

The  problem  of  preventing  and  securing  the  punishment 
of  crime  in  the  rural  districts  of  the  United  States  has  yet 
to  be  solved.  The  counties  have  peace  officers  in  their 
sheriffs  and  the  townships  in  their  constables,  but  the  way 
in  which  these  officials  perform  their  duties  in  most  places 
leaves  much  to  be  desired.  The  rural  constable  usually 


A  Captain  of  Horse  13 

has  to  eke  out  his  subsistence  by  some  private  calling  in 
addition  to  his  public  one,  and  when  a  crime  is  committed 
it  is  often  hard  to  find  him  in  time  to  get  the  culprit  arrested 
before  he  has  escaped/  or  to  secure  needed  evidence  before 
it  has  been  lost  or  destroyed.  The  sheriff  and  his  posse 
may  be  called,  but  a  man  is  seldom  elected  sheriff  because 
of  his  fitness  for  the  office,  and  the  posse  is  an  unorganized 
and  inexperienced  body  of  men  which  it  takes  some  time 
to  get  together,  and  which  does  not  know  what  to  do  after 
it  has  been  collected. 

The  situation  is  usually  much  aggravated  when  crime 
takes  such  a  form  as  a  lynching  or  a  riotous  strike.  The 
township  and  county  officials  may  be  in  sympathy  with  the 
law-breakers  and  lack  the  inclination  to  suppress  them 
even  though  they  have  the  power.  The  militia  may  be 
ordered  out,  but  this  is  extremely  expensive. 

The  best  remedy  ...  is  probably  such  a  measure  as 
that  which  has  been  adopted  in  Pennsylvania.  A  State 
constabulary,  if  free  from  improper  influences,  would  be 
an  organized  force  of  capable  and  experienced  men.  Its 
members  would  be  able  to  devote  their  whole  time  and 
energy  to  preventing  crime  and  catching  criminals.  Local 
sympathies  would  not  lead  them  to  treat  rioters  differently 
from  other  law-breakers. 

If  property  is  to  be  made  secure  and  life  is  to  be  made 
safe  throughout  the  rural  districts  of  the  United  States,  the 
State  constabulary  system  will  probably  have  to  be  gener- 
ally adopted.  Pennsylvania's  experiment  with  it  should 
be  highly  interesting  and  instructive. 

Coming  home  to  Pennsylvania  herself,  a  general 
sense  of  need  of  country  protection,  a  general  dissatis- 
faction with  the  existing  system,  were  displayed  both 
in  urban  and  in  rural  press,  with,  of  course,  some  sigh- 
ings  of  that  sempiternal  voice  that  murmurs  ever: 
"Let  us  do  to-morrow  what  we  do  to-day  because  we 


14  Justice  to  All 

did  it  yesterday."  "Yet  a  little  sleep,  a  little  slum- 
ber, a  little  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep."  In  the 
main,  however,  the  tone  was  one  of  interest  and  hope, 
always  with  emphatic  and  anxious  reiteration  of  the 
fact  that  all  must  depend,  for  good  or  for  ill,  on  the 
Governor's  choice  of  the  man  who  should  construct 
the  new  service. 

The  choice  of  the  man  constituted,  in  another  direc- 
tion, a  point  of  very  considerable  moment.  Although 
the  salaries  allotted  to  the  future  Force  were  small, 
they  represented  the  placing  of  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  distinct  pieces  of  patronage.  With  an  election 
coming  on  in  November  this  was  serious — the  more 
especially  as  certain  of  the  Governor's  recently  made 
appointments  hopelessly  closed  sources  that  otherwise 
might  have  developed  value  in  a  juncture  so  critical. 
Names  of  men  carefully  selected  for  the  need,  there- 
fore, were  now  submitted  to  the  Executive — to  be  met 
with  sphinxlike  blank.  Certain  other  names  followed 
very  clearly  labeled  as  to  urgency,  backing,  and  signifi- 
cance. Still  a  silence  such  as  the  hush  that  precedes 
an  electric  storm.  They  must  have  guessed  that 
something  was  brewing. 

Not  for  two  whole  months  did  the  farmer-Governor 
utter  his  word;  but  at  that  word  a  considerable  part 
of  his  public  went  down  in  their  amazement  as  flat  as 
the  King  of  Paflagonia  in  Thackeray's  picture. 

Governor  Pennypacker,  on  July  I,  1905,  offered  the 
appointment  of  Superintendent  of  State  Police  not  to 
a  friend  of  "the  machine,"  not  to  a  vote-bringer,  not 
to  a  man  who  had  ever  served  him,  not,  in  a  word,  to 
a  man  of  any  use  under  the  sun  from  a  "practical" 
point  of  view,  but  to  a  fundamental  and  complete 
outsider.  Governor  Pennypacker  offered  the  Super- 


A  Captain  of  Horse  15 

intendency  of  the  State  Police  to  Captain  John  C. 
Groome,  commanding  the  First  City  Troop  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  choice  was  a  blow  between  the  eyes  to  the  Gover- 
nor's enemies.  For  the  moment  they  found  nothing 
to  say — there  was  nothing  to  say  that  could  be  said 
in  public.  And  the  press  dealt  with  the  news  as  it 
stood,  without  partisan  color.  "Machine  Gets  Rap," 
" Machine  Hard  Hit,"  "Out  of  Politics,"  read  some  of 
the  headings,  while  from  all  over  the  State,  papers 
both  urban  and  rural  expressed  sincere  satisfaction. 
The  Harrisburg  Telegraph  said: 

It  is  fortunate  that  the  experiment  .  .  .  is  to  be  carried 
out  under  the  supervision  of  an  officer  of  the  character  and 
caliber  of  John  C.  Groome.  .  .  .  Into  no  better  or  safer 
hand  could  the  work  of  organizing  the  force  be  committed 
and  his  choice  removes  any  misgivings  as  to  the  real  aim 
of  the  new  department. 

Said  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette: 

He  has  knowledge  of  military  organization  and  practice, 
understands  the  work  to  be  done,  and  will  bring  intelligence 
and  integrity  to  the  task.  He  is  not  a  politician. 

The  Wilkes-Barre  News  saw  in  the  appointment  "a 
killing  blow"  to  those  who  had  built  schemes  of  barter 
upon  this  unsuspected  foundation,  and  the  same  senti- 
ment echoed  its  changes  at  large.  A  few  country 
voices  honestly  grumbled  that  this  "plum"  should 
have  fallen  within  city  limits,  and  one  small  urban 
sheet  was  raucously,  muddily  wretched  because  the 
new  appointee  was  a  gentleman. 

In  the  outside  world,  the  already  lively  interest  in 
the  movement  was  distinctly  heightened  by  the  Gover- 


1 6  Justice  to  All 

nor's  latest  step.  The  Outlook  commented  that  "it 
augurs  well,"  that  it  " gives  the  best  assurance  that  the 
new  force  will  be  governed  without  political  bias  or 
favoritism,"  while  such  papers  as  the  New  York  Evening 
Post  expressed  a  hearty  satisfaction  in  further  evidence 
of  sincerity  in  a  work  that  Pennsylvania  was  regarded 
as  undertaking  not  for  herself  alone,  but  for  the 
nation. 

Captain  Groome's  professional  reputation  rested  on 
a  firm  basis  of  real  distinction  in  the  National  Guard 
of  his  State.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  Guard  for 
twenty- three  years,  having  entered  the  famous  "City 
Troop"  in  1881.  The  "First  Troop,  Philadelphia 
City  Cavalry,"  to  give  the  command  its  true  name, 
is  the  oldest  military  organization  in  continuous  service 
in  the  United  States.  Organized  in  the  dark  days  of 
1774,  by  twenty-eight  gentlemen  who  in  times  of  peace 
had  ridden  to  hounds,  hunted,  fenced,  and  dined  to- 
gether, it  equipped  itself  as  a  mounted  Company,  and 
under  the  title  of  the  "Philadelphia  Troop  of  Light 
Horse"  offered  its  services  to  General  Washington. 
From  that  time  until  the  end  of  the  war,  the  command 
fairly  lived  in  the  saddle,  covering  itself  with  such 
hard-earned  credit  that  the  commander-in-chief,  in 
signing  its  dismissal,  was  moved  to  express  his  stately 
thanks  "for  the  many  essential  services  which  they 
have  rendered  to  this  country  and  to  me  personally, 
during  the  course  of  this  severe  campaign.  Tho' 
composed  of  Gentlemen  of  Fortune,  they  have  shewn 
a  noble  example  of  discipline  and  subordination,  and 
in  several  actions  have  shewn  a  Spirit  of  Bravery  which 
will  ever  do  Honor  to  them,  and  will  ever  be  gratefully 
remembered  by  me." 

The  City  Troop  has  maintained  its  standards  of 


A  Captain  of  Horse  17 

character  and  of  personnel  without  a  break  through 
nearly  one  and  a  half  centuries.  It  has  fought  in 
every  one  of  the  country's  wars,  it  has  done  duty 
through  many  riots  and  periods  of  disorder,  and  in 
1905  it  could  be  said  of  it  that,  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard,  "it  has  done 
more  field  service  during  the  past  fifteen  years  than 
the  troops  of  any  half  dozen  other  States." 

Lieutenant  John  C.  Groome  was  elected  to  the 
command  of  this  unique  organization  in  1896.  Two 
years  later,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  trouble  with  Spain, 
every  man  in  his  command  volunteered  to  enter  the 
Federal  service  to  follow  him  to  the  front.  The  Troop 
took  the  oath  just  seven  days  after  war  was  declared, 
thereafter  acquitting  itself  everywhere  in  its  historic 
style;  and  its  Captain's  sharp  and  relentless  discipline, 
sleepless  personal  activity,  scientific  knowledge  of 
camp  sanitation,  and  general  experienced  care  of  his 
men  resulted  not  only  in  its  conspicuous  efficiency  in 
the  field,  but  also  in  a  final  bill  of  health  ninety-nine 
per  cent,  perfect. 

Again,  in  the  great  Anthracite  Strike  of  1902,  the 
City  Troop  showed  such  high  attainment  in  every  point 
that  indicates  a  fine  commanding  officer  that  its  reputa- 
tion took  another  upward  bound;  so  that  the  Phila- 
delphia Inquirer  merely  voiced  a  matter  of  common 
knowledge  when  it  said,  in  July,  1905:  "If  Captain 
Groome  will  bring  his  State  Constabulary  up  to  the 
efficiency  of  the  First  City  Troop,  the  State  can  hardly 
ask  more  of  him." 

The  public  that  deduced  Captain  Groome's  accept- 
ance of  the  Governor's  appointment  from  the  mere  fact 
of  its  offer  were  reckoning,  however,  without  the  man. 
Captain  Groome  had  no  notion  whatever  of  accepting 


1 8  Justice  to  All 

the  appointment,  except  upon  one  rigid  condition. 
This  condition  he  made  perfectly  clear. 

"If  I  take  the  task  of  organizing  the  new  State 
Police/'  said  he,  "there  will  be  no  place  in  the  Force  for 
political  henchmen  or  ward  politicians,  no  toleration 
of  wire-pulling  in  any  shape.  If,  or  when,  I  cannot 
run  it  on  this  plane,  I  shall  turn  the  commission  back 
to  the  Governor,  to. dispose  of  as  he  pleases." 

This  the  Captain  laid  before  his  Excellency,  in  effect 
as  an  ultimatum;  and  the  Governor  smiled  his  slow, 
dry  smile  of  whimsical  delight.  It  was  exactly  what 
he  had  expected  and  desired.  In  his  secret  heart  he 
had  resolved  that  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  should 
be  his  monument  in  the  State's  history;  whatever  else 
might  have  feet  of  clay  this  must  stand  firm — this 
must  be  founded  on  solid  rock. 

No  sooner  did  the  news  of  the  Superintendent's 
appointment  spread  over  the  State  than  a  wild  scramble 
began  for  places  on  the  Force;  and,  as  was  natural,  the 
aspirants  flew  to  the  old  means  of  approach.  Those 
who  could  reach  a  Senator  or  Assemblyman  flung 
themselves  upon  such  personages  for  endorsement. 
Others  appealed  to  the  Governor,  while  a  very  few 
were  so  simply  trusting  as  to  apply  to  the  Superin- 
tendent direct. 

From  him  they  heard  that  "  owing  to  the  large  amount 
of  detail  work  necessary  to  perfect  the  organization 
of  this  new  department,  no  appointments  will  be  made 
to  the  Force  until  fall."  And  they  read  in  widespread 
public  print  his  reassertion  that:  "Politics  will  not 
figure  in  the  Department,  and  the  men  that  I  shall 
select  will  get  their  appointments  entirely  on  their 
fitness  and  not  through  political  influence." 

The  problem  that  now  confronted  the  new  official 


A  Captain  of  Horse  19 

was  one  of  vital  moment  not  to  Pennsylvania  alone 
but  to  the  nation  at  large.  A  great  new  principle  of 
unfathomed  potentiality  was  to  stand  or  fall  by  his 
sagacity  and  faith.  And  Captain  Groome  was  far 
too  good  a  soldier  not  to  see  the  gravity  of  his  charge. 

Every  detail  of  organization,  as  the  selection  of 
applicants,  the  framing  of  rules  for  their  examination, 
the  specific  duties  of  the  Force,  the  regulations  under 
which  it  should  live  and  operate,  its  equipment,  arms, 
uniform,  the  decision  whether  it  should  be  mounted 
or  not,  the  location  of  troop  headquarters,  and  so  on, 
the  Act  left  wholly  to  the  discretion  of  the  Superinten- 
dent. It  therefore  behooved  him  to  be  wise.  To 
quote  his  own  words  of  after  date: 

"I  proceeded  very  carefully.  There  was  no  pre- 
cedent, nothing  to  pattern  by,  and  the  matter  was  as 
new  to  me  as  to  everybody  else." 

The  Superintendent's  first  step  was  to  make  a  close 
study  of  the  criminal  statistics  of  each  section  of  the 
State,  together  with  attendant  conditions,  in  the  course 
of  which  research  he  consulted  freely  with  the  State 
officials  resident  in  the  various  quarters.  Having 
clarified  his  conception  of  the  actual  needs  of  the  Com- 
monwealth by  this  practical  procedure,  he  next  took 
up  the  records  of  the  various  police  forces  of  the  world. 
He  closely  examined  the  reports  of  the  Texas  Rangers, 
of  the  Italian,  the  German,  and  the  Irish  forces,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  Northwestern  Mounted  Police 
of  Canada,  of  the  Australian  bodies,  and  of  others.  A 
strict  comparison  of  all  these  induced  the  tentative 
conclusion  that  conditions  in  Ireland  presented  a 
nearer  parallel  to  conditions  in  Pennsylvania  than  was 
elsewhere  offered. 

This  determined  the  conscientious  officer  to  put  the 


20  Justice  to  All 

parallel  to  the  test  of  closer  scrutiny.  Therefore, 
carrying  official  credentials  in  the  form  of  a  letter  from 
the  Secretary  of  State,  he  sailed  for  Ireland.  There 
he  spent  three  weeks  in  the  barracks  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Constabulary,  studying  their  methods,  their  structure, 
and  their  rules  and  regulations. 

Now,  Ireland's  area  is  practically  the  same  as  that 
of  Pennsylvania,  but  to  police  her  forty-five  thousand 
square  miles  a  constabulary  of  ten  thousand  men  is 
maintained,  which  body  polices  not  only  the  rural 
kingdom  but  also  every  city  therein,  excepting  only 
Dublin.  The  strength  of  this  Force  is  therefore  Very 
closely  knit,  and  the  seventy-five  years  of  its  existence 
had  produced  an  extremely  elaborate  system  and  code 
suitable  to  the  needs  of  so  large  and  compact  a  body. 

The  problem  of  policing  forty-five  thousand  square 
miles  with  ten  thousand  men  is  too  different  from  the 
problem  of  policing  a  similar  area  with  two  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  men  to  offer  any  very  close  model. 
The  Pennsylvanian  officer  made  in  Ireland  many  ob- 
servations that  were  of  much  interest  and  help  to 
his  work,  but  conviction  took  final  form  that  the  Penn- 
sylvania State  Police  must  shape  itself  as  a  new  thing 
under  the  sun,  without  further  guidance  than  such  as 
could  be  drawn  from  good  judgment,  experience,  and 
the  regulations  of  our  own  army. 

Captain  Groome,  returning  from  his  investigation, 
reached  New  York  on  September  27th.  The  next 
morning  found  him  in  the  Executive  Chamber  in  Har- 
risburg,  reporting  to  the  Governor. 

Meantime,  since  the  beginning  of  the  month,  Dr. 
Francis  D.  Patterson,  examining  surgeon  of  the  Force- 
to-be,  had  been  conducting  physical  examinations  of 
the  aspirants.  On  the  whole,  an  excellent  class  of  men 


A  Captain  of  Horse  21 

had  come  forward,  comprising  a  great  variety  of  types. 
There  were  cowboys  from  the  western  plains,  school 
teachers,  athletes  fresh  from  the  universities,  artisans, 
farmers,  militia-men,  officers  of  the  National  Guard, 
and  a  fine  lot  of  men  of  diverse  present  callings  who 
had  served  with  credit  in  the  regular  army  or  navy. 

"The  success  of  the  new  State  Police  force  is  assured 
if  the  character  of,  the  men  who  are  applying  for  ap- 
pointment be  any  criterion,"  announced  the  Harrisburg 
Telegraph,  from  its  vantage-point  of  close  observation. 

Blanks  embodying  the  conditions  of  the  law  in 
question  form,  with  additional  questions  as  to  certain 
details  such  as  that  of  previous  military  or  naval  service, 
had  been  issued  to  these  applicants,  and  by  the  middle 
of  August  over  one  thousand  papers  had  been  returned 
satisfactorily  filled.  To  avoid  unnecessary  hardship 
to  the  men,  Dr.  Patterson  now  arranged  to  make  a 
tour  of  the  State,  holding  physical  examinations  at 
some  fifteen  local  centres.  The  examinations  were 
stiff  in  the  extreme,  considerably  exceeding  even  the 
regular  army  requirements.  Their  severity  had  its 
intended  effect,  weeding  out  all  but  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men  from  the  thousand  and  more  on  the  lists. 

The  survivors  were  then  notified  to  present  them- 
selves on  November  4,  1905,  at  Harrisburg,  Phila- 
delphia, or  Pittsburgh,  for  a  mental  test  to  be  conducted 
according  to  civil  service  rules.  One  hundred  and 
ninety-three  men  came  successfully  through  this 
second  ordeal  and  through  the  subsequent  examination 
as  to  their  records  of  conduct  and  morality.  And 
these  one  hundred  and  ninety- three  men,  thus  sifted 
and  resifted  by  every  possible  means,  became  the 
original  personnel  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police 
Force.  They  came  from  nineteen  different  States  of 


22  Justice  to  All 

the  Union.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  them  had  served  from 
one  to  three  terms  of  enlistment  in  the  regular  army; 
all  of  these  army  men  held  honorable  discharges,  many 
of  them  as  non-commissioned  officers,  and  a  large 
number  of  the  discharges  were  officially  reinforced 
with  extreme  commendation  as  to  ability,  conduct, 
and  character. 

In  the  interval  covered  by  the  examinations,  Cap- 
tain Groome  traveled  about  the  State  studying  needs 
and  conditions,  with  a  view  to  determining  where  to 
establish  his  centres. 

From  the  beginning,  the  general  attitude  of  the  press 
of  the  State  toward  the  new  Department  had  been 
intelligent.  "We  greatly  need  a  clean  and  efficient 
rural  police,"  had  been  its  first  note.  "Is  that  what 
you  are  honestly  offering  us?  If  so,  we  welcome  it." 
Next,  when  the  work  began,  "Pay  no  political  debts 
with  these  appointments!"  it  anxiously  urged.  Then, 
as  the  high  standard  demanded  for  the  personnel 
became  unmistakably  apparent,  and  as  the  actual 
appointments  were  made  known,  a  widespread  content- 
ment overspread  the  State. 

The  four  captains  and  the  four  lieutenants,  it  was 
seen,  were  all  drawn  from  the  best  material  in  the  State 
National  Guard.  Of  the  twenty  sergeants,  fifteen  were 
tried,  proved,  and  attested  non-commissioned  officers 
of  the  regular  army,  while  the  remaining  five  were 
State  Guardsmen.  Not  one  appointment  had  the 
faintest  political  flavor.  The  people  at  large  were 
generally  pleased  and  satisfied  with  the  beginnings  of 
the  new  arm,  and  among  the  press  the  few  professional 
mud-slingers  were  quickly  taken  in  hand  by  the  organs 
of  order  and  fair  play,  and  their  motives  duly  exhibited 
in  terms  as  picturesque  as  they  were  simple  and  fitting. 


A  Captain  of  Horse  23 

The  public  mind  being  thus  far  determined,  a  degree 
of  rivalry  now  developed  between  county  and  county, 
town  and  town,  in  the  regions  likely  to  be  chosen  as 
Troop  centres.  This  town  and  that  offered  this  and 
that  inducement  to  attract  to  itself  the  advantage  of 
a  Troop's  presence.  The  Superintendent  heard  them 
all,  but  sought  in  fact  the  centres  of  greatest  necessity. 

At  last,  after  careful  consideration,  he  decided  to  place 
one  Troop  at  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  County,  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  State,  a  second  to  the  north  at 
Punxsutawney,  in  Jefferson  County,  a  third  at  Wyoming, 
Luzerne  County,  in  the  northeast,  and  the  fourth  near 
Reading,  Berks  County,  a  southeastern  quarter. 

For  obvious  reasons,  among  others  to  emphasize 
from  the  very  beginning  the  fact  that  the  State  Police 
was  in  no  way  intended  to  supersede  any  existing  police 
body  or  local  officers,  it  was  particularly  desired  not  to 
quarter  any  Troop  within  a  town  having  police  service. 
Barracks  were  therefore  sought  outside  town  limits. 

"Finding  it  was  impossible  to  secure  a  building  in 
the  vicinity  .  .  .  large  enough  to  accommodate  an 
entire  Troop,  I  was  compelled  to  rent  buildings  as  nearly 
as  possible  suitable  for  the  purpose,  and  then  make  the 
necessary  additions  and  alterations,"  says  the  Super- 
intendent in  his  Report  of  the  first  year.  "In  the 
meantime/*  he  continues,  "the  officers  and  men  had 
been  assigned  to  their  respective  Troops,  the  specifica- 
tions for  uniforms  were  drawn  up  and  the  contract 
awarded,  the  horse  equipment  ordered,  and  the  two 
hundred  and  thirty  horses,  selected  in  accordance  with 
the  U.  S.  Cavalry  specifications,  were  received  and 
distributed  among  the  four  Troops. 

"March  I,  1906,  the  uniforms,  arms,  and  equipment 
having  been  received,  the  Force  went  on  active  duty." 


CHAPTER  III 

ENTER,  THE  BLACK  HUSSARS 

THE  period  immediately  following  the  enlistment  of 
the  command,  laconically  as  it  was  summarized  by 
Captain  Groome,  was  a  period  long  to  be  remembered 
by  the  men  of  the  four  Troops.  Assembled  in  their 
four  quarters  of  the  State  they  now  faced  each  other 
practically  for  the  first  time.  A  few  of  them  had 
served  in  the  regular  army  together,  here  and  there 
about  the  world,  but  for  the  most  part  they  were  as 
strange  one  to  another  as  to  the  questions  that  they 
had  to  solve. 

"Now  you  are  the  State  Police  Force,"  they  heard. 
And  the  Superintendent,  interviewing  them  severally 
and  apart,  had  said,  in  a  way  that  none  of  them  will 
ever  forget : 

"Your  duty  is  to  make  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police 
Force  the  finest  thing  in  the  world." 

The  Superintendent,  in  those  memorable  private 
interviews,  had  probed  their  minds  as  to  their  own 
conception  of  the  work,  giving  them  therewith  certain 
illuminating  flashes  of  his  own  purpose.  He  had  indi- 
cated, also,  a  cardinal  point  or  two,  as: 

"  It  is  possible  for  a  man  to  be  a  gentleman  as  well  as 
a  policeman." 

"I  expect  you  to  treat  elderly  persons,  women,  and 
children  at  all  times  with  the  greatest  consideration." 

"When  once  you  start  after  a  man  you  must  get  him." 

24 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  25 

"In  making  an  arrest  you  may  use  no  force  beyond 
the  minimum  necessary." 

"One  State  Policeman  should  be  able  to  handle  one 
hundred  foreigners." 

But  such  details,  after  all,  were  quite  evidently 
comprehended  in  the  first  sweeping  demand.  And  in 
the  spirit  that  spoke  through  that  demand,  every  man 
felt  the  words  take  on  a  significance  that  opened  a 
new  world  before  his  gaze.  As  one  of  them  lately  said 
— one  who  has  come  through  the  stern  trial  of  the  ten 
years  since  elapsed  with  a  record  that  all  the  nation 
might  know  to  its  soul's  good: 

"Men  came  onto  the  Force  with  no  other  idea  than 
that  of  making  it  the  best  in  existence.  Those  other- 
wise minded  did  not  long  survive.  And  through  and 
above  all  the  stiff  training  that  each  of  us  needed  and 
got,  ran  the  paramount  influence  of  the  Superintendent's 
personality.  It  was  that  one  man's  mind,  felt  straight 
through  the  Force,  that  set  the  standard  for  us  all. 
It  underlay  every  rule  or  teaching.  It  was,  and  is,  a 
silent,  sleepless,  inevitable  call  upon  all  of  the  very 
best  that  a  man  can  give." 

As  has  been  stated,  the  recruits  came  from  many  walks 
in  life,  from  those  swept  and  softened  to  those  where 
travel  is  hard.  But  all  fell  in  together  now,  regardless  of 
previous  experience,  on  the  rough  road  of  the  pioneer. 

The  Act  did  not  permit  the  purchase  of  property. 
It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  lease  barracks.  But 
our  lesser  towns  are  not  prolific  of  houses  that  can 
accommodate  fifty-five  men,  with  dependent  stables 
for  their  mounts;  therefore  makeshifts  were  necessary. 
Near  Greensburg,  for  example,  "A"  Troop's  domicile, 
it  had  been  possible  to  rent  a  large,  unfinished  house — a 
house  whose  stable,  rather  sketchier  than  itself,  consisted 


26  Justice  to  All 

of  a  few  uprights  and  cross-timbers.  But  even  the 
house  was  so  very  distinctly  unfinished,  so  beyond 
all  question  of  present  habitation,  that  "A"  Troop, 
detraining  at  Greensburg  on  December  I5th,  its  first 
birthday,  was  as  shelterless  as  the  birds  of  the  air. 

A  man  who  has  to  subsist  himself  out  of  seven  hun- 
dred and  twenty  dollars  a  year  pay  can  scarcely  patron- 
ize hotels,  of  whatever  quality;  so  the  troopers  had  to 
hunt  for  boarding  places  in  the  town,  wherever  they 
might  be  found.  And  then  they  started  in  to  help 
along  the  construction  of  their  future  home. 

Some  dug  trenches  for  the  drains  and  sewers.  Others 
worked  at  the  grading  or  betook  themselves  to  those 
thousand  odd  jobs  that  their  varied  acquirements  and 
their  uniform  good-will  could  find.  One  detail  of  ten 
men,  under  direction  of  a  carpenter,  attacked  the  stable. 
Receiving  it  as  merely  the  rudiments  of  a  frame,  they 
clothed  upon  that  frame  with  walls,  they  put  in  the 
partitions,  they  built  the  bins  and  chutes  and  stalls, — 
all  at  top  speed.  For  the  Superintendent  had  decided 
that  all  the  Force  should  be  mounted  and  the  horses 
would  presently  arrive. 

Then  the  horses  came,  three  or  four  carloads  of  them, 
nervous  and  unstrung  by  the  long  trip  from  their  Texan 
home.  The  only  stabling  available  was  at  a  race-track 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  town.  That  mile  and  a  half 
crawled  straight  uphill,  by  a  road  deep  in  snow  and 
mud,  and  the  men  plodded  it  four  times  each  day 
during  the  transition  period. 

As  an  old  polo  player,  a  cavalryman,  and  a  horse- 
show  judge  of  international  repute,  the  Superintendent 
knew  to  a  point  the  type  of  animal  that  this  service 
demanded.  He  had  drawn  up  his  specifications  ac- 
cordingly, and  the  specifications  had  been  duly  observed 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  27 

by  those  entrusted  with  the  purchase. x  The  horses  were 
smallish,  wiry,  and  agile,  of  the  plainsman's  type — rarely 
over  fifteen  hands,  light  feeders,  chosen  for  endurance. 
And  such  slight  training  as  they  had  already  had  bore 
little  relation  to  the  work  for  which  they  must  now  be 
broken. 

As  to  the  men,  every  one  of  them  could  ride,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  but  only  a  few  understood 
the  training  of  horses.  These  few,  and  the  horses, 
taught  the  rest,  and  other  new  and  competent  trainers 
developed  under  the  emergency.  Men  and  horses 
together  practiced  steadily  all  the  feats  that  cavalry 
need.  To  mount  and  be  mounted  at  a  gallop,  to  ride 
double  and  to  bear  a  double  burden,  to  hang  by  your 
horse's  neck  and  to  let  your  man  hang  by  your  neck 
unalarmed — all  these  things  and  many  more  men  and 
horses  learned  together;  and  through  it  all  affections 
grew  between  man  and  mount  that  later  on  came  some- 
times to  mean  life  or  death  and  always  to  mean  the 
joy  of  the  day,  to  either. 

As  soon  as  the  first  struggle  for  shelter  was  over,  the 
Troop's  schooling  began.  And  here  it  must  be  recalled 
that  the  personnel  of  the  command  was  not  of  the  usual 
police  force  mentality.  As  has  been  said,  ninety  per  cent, 
of  the  body  had  seen  service,  usually  several  terms  of  ser- 
vice, in  the  regular  army  or  the  navy.  A  large  number  of 
the  men,  moreover,  had  been  non-commissioned  officers, 
some  few  of  them  post  instructors,  and  all  were  more 
or  less  accustomed  to  study  as  well  as  to  drill. 

'The  mounts  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  have  from  the  first 
been  bought  in  Texas,  and  in  accordance  with  the  Superintendent's 
exact  specifications.  Ten  years'  experience  has  shown  the  chosen  type 
to  "^be  ideally  adapted  to  the  service  in  every  respect.  The  highest 
price  ever  paid  for  these  horses  was  that  given  in  the  spring  of  1916, 
when  the  new  purchases  cost  $165.00  apiece,  delivered  in  Pittsburgh. 


28  Justice  to  All 

Therefore,  when  the  Troop  now  applied  itself  to  the 
learning  of  criminal  laws,  of  the  laws  of  evidence,  of 
game  and  forestry  laws,  and  of  all  such  ramifications 
of  the  code  as  concerned  its  future  activities,  it  did  not 
bring  an  undisciplined  mind  to  the  task.  To  hasten 
attainment  the  books  were  supplemented  by  specialists' 
talks.  Police  officials  and  detectives  came  to  barracks 
to  lecture  on  their  own  topics,  to  throw  practical  light 
on  the  academic  work.  And  meantime  stiff  daily 
drill,  mounted  and  dismounted,  practice  of  the  manual 
of  arms,  revolver  practice,  etc.,  ran  on  side  by  side  with 
instruction  in  every  sort  of  out-of-doors  emergency 
craft.  The  Force's  present  system  of  troop  schooling 
is  sharply  selected  and  comprises  a  wide  field  of  essen- 
tials to  a  highly  specialized  service.  At  the  start, 
however,  the  way  had  to  be  felt  out.  As  one  of  the 
present  captains  said:  "In  the  early  days  it  was  a 
case  of  beginning  right  and  doing  the  best  we  could. 
The  men  all  went  to  work  themselves.  Everyone  did 
his  little  bit  and  finally  we  got  a  police." 

They  went  out  and  saw  how  things  were  done;  they 
came  back  and  verified  or  corrected  their  impressions 
as  to  how  they  might  have  been  done  better.  They 
toured  the  countryside  to  learn  the  lay  of  the  land  and 
the  character  of  the  people;  they  studied  local  conditions 
by  every  available  means. 

What  was  true  of  "A"  Troop  at  Greensburg  held 
true  in  general  of  each  division  of  the  command.  "  B  " 
Troop,  near  Wilkes-Barre,  drew  the  best  quarters  at 
the  start.  "C"  Troop,  settled  near  Reading,  had  to 
shift  as  handily  as  it  could  in  temporary  lodgings,  until 
the  barracks  on  the  Wyomissing  Creek  could  be  pre- 
pared. "D"  Troop,  at  Punxsutawney,  made  the  best 
of  something  very  closely  resembling  hardship  in  an 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  29 

old  world's  fair  exhibition  building,  whose  flimsy 
structure  was  ill  prepared  to  keep  out  winter  winds 
and  rains.  And  everybody  worked  at  everything,  hand 
and  brain  alike,  with  all  the  strength  that  was  in  him. 

Finally  the  uniforms  arrived.  Now  that  uniform 
had  been  carefully  studied  out  by  the  Superintendent 
himself,  with  an  experienced  soldier's  mind  for  practi- 
cality, permanent  neatness,  and  durability  under  the 
hardest  wear.  Its  design  has  never  been  changed  to 
the  present  day,  because  no  way  'has  ever  been  found 
to  better  it.  It  consists  of  a  military  tunic  and  riding 
trousers  of  very  dark  gray  whipcord,  black  pigskin 
puttees,  black  boots,  nickel  strap  spurs,  reinforced 
black  helmet  with  black  leather  chin  strap,  and  black 
horsehide  gauntlets.  On  either  side  of  the  tunic  collar 
is  a  permanently  riveted  nickel  letter  seven  eighths 
of  an  inch  in  height,  which  is  the  letter  of  the  Troop. 
One  quarter  of  an  inch  from  each  letter  and  of  equal 
length  with  it,  is  a  nickel  number,  which  is  the  per- 
sonal identification  number  of  the  individual  trooper. 
The  numbers  cannot  be  detached  without  destroying 
the  coat;  and  they  can  be  read  at  a  distance  of  from 
seventy  to  eighty  yards.  This  number,  the  Super- 
intendent's own  device  and  one  that  of  recent  years 
has  been  copied  by  the  city  police  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  is  a  particularly  important  feature  in 
the  uniform,  as  it  furnishes  a  positive  means  of  identi- 
fication to  any  person  who  may  desire  to  enter  a 
complaint  concerning  a  specific  man. 

The  cartridge  belt  and  holster  of  black  leather  are 
worn  on  the  outside  of  the  tunic.  The  device  on  the 
front  of  the  helmet  shows  a  circle  carrying  the  words 
"Pennsylvania  State  Police  Force"  in  nickel,  sur- 
mounted by  the  State's  arms  in  black.  The  officer's 


30  Justice  to  All 

uniform  is  identical  with  that  of  the  men  except  that 
with  the  former  the  State's  arms  in  nickel  replaces  the 
letter  and  number  on  the  collar.  An  army  fatigue  cap,  a 
campaign  hat,  a  rubber  coat,  an  overcoat  for  mounted 
wear,  and  a  stable  suit,  complete  a  man's  outfit. 

From  a  visualization  of  the  uniform  it  will  be  seen 
that  nothing  more  somber,  severe,  and  simple  could  be 
conceived— a  fact  which  in  itself  gives  a  gauge  of  the 
responsibility,  intelligence,  and  sincerity  of  those  who 
now  and  again  rise  up  to  discourse  on  the  "epaulettes  and 
regalia,"  the  "gold  braid  and  uniformed  bravado,"  the 
"Cossack  trappings"  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police. 

The  arms  of  the  Force  had  been  worked  out  with 
equal  care.  A  trooper's  outfit  comprises  one  38-caliber 
Colt's  revolver,  a  billy,  a  twenty-two  inch  hickory 
baton,  and  a  Springfield  carbine — the  latter  not  for 
daily  use  but  only  for  special  emergencies. 

By  March  I,  1906,  uniforms,  arms,  and  equipments 
had  all  arrived,  and  the  Force  went  out  on  active  duty. 
Meantime,  the  inevitable  and  saving  grace  of  elimina- 
tion had  already  begun  its  work.  Several  men  had 
resigned  from  the  Force  and  several  others  had  been 
dismissed  as  unfit  for  the  service.  The  hard  work  and 
stiff  discipline  instituted  at  the  start  had  by  now  un- 
mistakably asserted  themselves  as  permanent  condi- 
tions. Men  to  whom  the  hope  of  adventure  had  worn 
a  smiling  face,  but  who  were  themselves  unused  to  rigid 
government  and  self-government,  found  the  fact  less 
rosy  than  the  prospect. 

Some  of  those  who  dropped  out  scornfully  announced 
to  the  public  that  the  Force  was  being  run  as  a  temper- 
ance organization — a  practical  truth  that  did  small 
harm  to  its  target.  Others  even  at  that  early  day  gave 
evidence  to  the  practiced  eye  of  the  Superintendent  of 


«*H      -O         O 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  31 

a  lack  of  that  moral  fiber,  judgment,  and  steadiness 
that  the  standard  must  exact.  Observation  under 
working  conditions  alone  could  finally  determine  these 
things,  whether  of  officers  or  of  men. 

That  observation  was  closely  maintained,  and  its  de- 
ductions applied  with  relentless  severity.  Not  every 
man  who  began  with  captain's  rank  proved  to  have  the 
Superintendent's  conception  of  "the  finest  thing  in  the 
world."  Not  every  promising  young  civilian  athlete 
really  relished  getting  up  each  morning  at  six  o'clock 
to  clean  his  horse,  going  to  bed  promptly  at  ten  at 
night,  or  getting  no  time  to  go  to  bed  at  all,  working  like 
a  navvy  and  a  grind  every  moment  between,  and  having 
a  line  of  conduct  marked  out  for  him  that  left  no  margin 
for  self-indulgence  of  any  sort.  And  so,  the  sooner  these 
things  were  discovered  the  better  for  all  concerned. 

As  has  been  earlier  indicated,  the  general  locations 
of  the  four  Troop  stations  had  been  determined  by  two 
considerations:  First,  that  the  entire  command  should 
be  so  distributed  as  to  reach  as  far  as  might  be  over 
the  State;  and,  second  but  not  less,  that  the  regions  of 
greatest  criminality  should  be  under  the  closest  obser- 
vation. A  glance  at  the  map  shows  that  the  posts 
are  placed  in  the  northern  and  southern  halves  of  the 
eastern  and  western  sections.  These  sections,  by 
year-round  criminal  record,  produced  more  murder, 
more  manslaughter,  more  robbery,  more  rape,  more 
burglary  and  thieving,  more  lawlessness  and  disorder 
of  every  sort,  by  far,  than  were  shown  by  the  records 
of  the  other  parts  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  central 
section  of  the  State  was  and  is  mainly  a  farming  region, 
with  an  old,  homogeneous  population,  by  no  means 
free  from  trouble  but  not  yet  as  ceaselessly  troubled  as 
the  regions  to  the  east  and  west. 


32  Justice  to  All 

The  reason  of  this  condition  was  obvious.  In  the 
eastern  and  western  sections  lie  the  great  coal  fields, 
with  other  allied  industries.  The  coal  fields,  ever 
since  their  opening,  have  attracted  an  unending  stream 
of  foreign  immigration.  This  immigration,  at  first 
largely  tainted  with  lawlessness  and  turbulence,  con- 
stantly undergoes  a  process  of  assimilation  and  improve- 
ment and  is  as  constantly  reflooded  below  by  crude 
material  of  the  roughest  type. 

In  the  beginning  the  major  part  of  the  mine  laborers 
came  from  Ireland  and  from  the  Scandinavian  penin- 
sula. Out  of  the  former  of  these  two  elements  sprang 
that  unspeakable  society  of  murderers,  the  "  Molly 
McGuires."  After  successfully  maintaining  a  reign 
of  nightmare  for  some  years,  these  monstrosities  were 
wiped  out  of  existence  by  heroic  methods,  while  the 
Irish  in  general,  like  the  Scandinavians,  are  now  but 
little  found  in  their  earlier  walks,  having  graduated  to 
more  desirable  employ.  The  Welsh  passed  quickly 
through  the  transition  stage  and  beyond  it.  Then 
came  the  Slavs  and  the  Italians,  who  practically  filled 
the  field  at  the  period  in  hand. 

Peoples  totally  unused  in  their  countries  of  origin  to 
any  form  of  self-government,  but  accustomed  on  the 
contrary  to  see  the  sword  of  the  king  always  bared 
before  their  eyes,  Slavs  and  Italians  alike  here  looked 
in  vain  for  outward  evidence  of  authority  and  law. 
Peoples  used  to  the  narrowest  means,  they  here  found 
themselves  suddenly  possessed  of  greater  earnings 
than  they  had  ever  dreamed  of  before.  Peoples  used 
to  free  drinking,  in  climates  where  the  effect  of  alcohol 
is  less  marked  than  here,  they  still  continued  that  free 
drinking,  and  in  strange  raw  mixtures  of  peculiar  viru- 
lence. Liberty  that  they  knew  not  how  to  use,  money 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  33 

that  they  knew  neither  how  to  spend  nor  how  to  save, 
meant  license,  greed,  drunkenness — and  through  drunk- 
enness all  brutalities  let  loose.  These  were  the  poisons 
daily  doing  their  natural  work  in  the  sections  where 
Captain  Groome  elected  to  centre  the  new  arm  of  the 
Law. 

For  an  accurate  understanding  of  the  purpose  and 
activity  of  the  Force,  the  fact  just  stated  cannot  be 
too  clearly  borne  in  mind.  It  is  the  crux  of  a  point 
much  misconceived,  and  misconceived  to  the  profitless 
hindrance  of  the  common  weal.  It  has  been  persist- 
ently urged  by  some  of  the  uninformed,  as  by  all  pro- 
fessional labor  agitators,  that  the  establishment  of  the 
State  Police  near  industrial  centres  proved  that  the 
purpose  of  the  Force  was  to  "break  strikes. " 

The  State  Police  has  no  purpose  save  to  execute  the 
laws  of  the  State.  And  it  is  the  first  business  and  duty 
of  the  State  to  see  that  each  and  every  one  of  her 
denizens,  regardless  of  conditions  or  calling,  at  all 
times  obeys  her  laws.  The  laws  are  the  mandates  of 
all  the  people,  formed  in  common  council,  by  the  com- 
mon sense,  for  the  common  good.  In  enforcing  these 
laws,  the  State  is  simply  the  people's  executive,  and, 
as  such,  may  not  listen  to  the  argument  of  any  violator 
or  group  of  violators  whatsoever.  In  the  matter  now 
under  consideration,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  tardily 
enough,  yet  still  in  the  van  of  the  Union,  had  merely 
provided  herself  with  an  executive  arm  wherewithal 
to  fulfill  her  reason  of  being. 

The  State  Police,  therefore,  was  properly  placed  in 
the  centres  of  greatest  offense  to  the  people.  Its  sole 
concern  was  to  protect  the  people  in  their  peace.  At 
no  time  could  it  check  in  the  slightest  degree  the  move- 
ments of  any  per  con  not  breaking  the  law.  A  "strike" 


34  Justice  to  All 

is  a  perfectly  lawful  proceeding,  and  the  State's  Police 
could  have  no  cognizance  of  a  "strike"  other  than  of  a 
picnic  or  a  county  fair.  Called  in  by  the  proper  authori- 
ties with  convincing  proof  of  need,  the  State  Police 
would  see  to  it,  at  picnic,  strike,  or  county  fair,  alike, 
that  general  order  was  maintained  by  all  present  with- 
out fear,  favor,  or  respect  to  persons.  And  therein  lies 
the  whole  story. 

The  first  activities  of  the  four  Troops  now  entering 
the  field  were  of  a  general  and  various  nature.  Here 
they  picked  up  a  country  store  robber;  there  a  stabber 
of  a  night  watchman;  again,  a  molester  of  women;  a 
carrier  of  concealed  weapons;  a  farm  thief;  a  setter  of 
forest  fires;  and  always  a  little  harvest  of  killers  of 
song-birds,  greatly  to  the  derision  of  the  imperfectly 
endowed.  Meantime  they  were  dealing  constantly 
with  the  unassimilated  foreign  element,  teaching  it  by 
small  but  repeated  object-lessons  that  a  new  gospel 
was  abroad  in  the  land. 

At  feasts,  christenings,  balls,  and  the  like,  these  alien 
people  were  given  to  heavy  and  prolonged  drinking 
bouts,  which  ended  often  in  wild  and  murderous  dis- 
order. The  comfortable  practice  of  the  earlier  regime 
had  been  to  let  them  alone  in  their  ugly  moods — to  let 
them  fight  out  their  brawls  undisturbed,  even  to  the 
re-beginning  of  a  hearty  funeral.  It  was  not  held 
seemly  that  any  worthy,  honest  man  should  imperil 
life  or  limb  by  thwarting  a  knave  in  his  knavery. 

"So  long  as  they  confine  their  sanguinary  conflicts 
to  their  immediate  associates,  the  general  public  will 
have  small  cause  to  complain,"  said  one  representative 
rural  paper. 

But  the  new  Force,  its  eyes  full  fixed  upon  the  Law, 
called  nothing  negligible  that  dared  deny  her  reverence. 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  35 

Where  Dogberry  retreated  trembling,  these  quiet, 
straight-gazed  men  merely  tightened  a  grip  that  dragged 
inevitably  to  justice.  Somewhat  cruelly  contrasting 
the  large-girthed,  heavy-witted  local  incumbents  with 
the  officers  of  the  State,  a  Wilkes-Barre  paper  summed 
up  its  observation  of  all  the  latter  as  "clean,  lithe, 
athletic,  agile  men,  making  up  for  what  they  lack  in 
weight,  in  energy,  youth,  and  vitality."  And  the  public 
was  now  daily  discovering  that  this  outward  and  visible 
sign  reflected  an  inward  and  spiritual  force  that  could 
not  be  bought,  bent,  confused,  alarmed,  or  exhausted. 

Unfortunately,  or  fortunately, — perhaps  it  was  as  well 
to  have  an  issue  eventually  inevitable  joined  squarely 
at  the  start, — the  spring  of  1906  brought  Pennsylvania 
an  overflowing  measure  of  industrial  disturbances. 

East  and  west,  unrest  turned  volcanic,  and  there 
is  no  room  for  doubt  that,  but  for  the  State's  Police, 
her  entire  National  Guard  must  once  more  have  spent 
a  long,  hard  season  in  the  field.  Again  and  again  was 
redemonstrated  the  fact  that  the  sane,  the  economical, 
the  merciful  time  to  quench  a  blaze  is  at  the  first  spark. 

In  1902  the  whole  mining  populace  of  the  anthracite 
region  was  up  and  flaming  out  of  hand  before  the 
National  Guard  was  called;  nor  is  it  conceivable  that 
the  Guard  should  ever  be  summoned,  save  on  grounds 
of  grave  accomplished  evil.  In  1906,  by  contrast, 
when  ten  thousand  mill  workers  in  the  Punxsutawney 
district  began  a  riot  that  the  sheriff  saw  he  could  not 
control,  the  timely  arrival  of  a  small  detachment  from 
"D"  Troop  barracks  immediately  restored  peace. 

"D"  Troop  had  been  able  to  show  those  people  its 
purpose  and  its  mettle  on  small  occasions  earlier  in 
the  year.  Now,  at  a  juncture  that  would  once  have 
led  to  a  great  mobilization  and  a  sacrifice  of  blood,  "  D  " 


36  Justice  to  All 

Troop's  mere  appearance  stilled  disorder  and  averted 
harm.  No  force  was  needed,  thanks  to  the  calming 
effect  of  the  early  presence  of  recognized  power. 

Just  after  the  Punxsutawney  affair,  a  disturbance 
broke  out  in  the  southeastern  section,  in  Lebanon 
County,  falling  thereby  to  "C"  Troop's  lot.  In  a 
contemporary  article  reviewing  the  Force's  work  of 
this  spring,  the  New  York  Evening  Post  thus  described 
the  incident : 

At  Cornwall  ore-banks  early  in  March,  five  hundred 
foreigners  became  angry  because  they  could  not  persuade 
the  men  keeping  the  fires  to  quit  work.  They  assaulted 
several  inoffensive  workmen  and  chased  the  sheriff's  depu- 
ties. The  sheriff  telephoned  for  aid:  "Send  your  whole 
force,"  he  urged.  "These  rioters  are  desperate." 

A  sergeant  and  ten  men  were  despatched  on  the  run. 
There  was  no  time  to  get  the  horses  entrained  and  the  detail 
went  whirling  to  the  scene  of  trouble  in  a  caboose  and 
engine.  No  sooner  had  they  arrived  than  the  smallest 
man  in  the  bunch  forced  his  way  boldly  into  a  crowd  of 
angry  aliens  and  grabbed  a  big  foreigner  who  had  pulled  a 
gun.  The  prisoner  showed  fight  and  his  friends  offered  to 
help  him.  The  trooper  swung  his  stick  just  once,  the  big 
fellow  dropped,  and  the  crowd  ran  like  sheep. 

.  .  .  Two  thousand  armed  men  to  one  troublesome  town 
was  the  militia's  ratio  for  pacification.  By  the  ethics  of 
the  Constabulary1  a  sergeant  and  ten  men  are  expected  to 
handle  such  a  district.  The  mounted  constable  enforces 
the  law  very  much  as  did  the  sheriffs  in  those  strenuous 
years  when  the  West  was  young.  He  must  be  absolutely 
fearless.  If  he  shows  the  white  feather  once,  his  usefulness 
is  over  and  the  Force  has  no  place  for  him. 

1  The  name  "constabulary,"  thus  early  attached  to  the  State  Police 
by  the  friendly  press,  has  persisted  in  common  use  to  the  present  day. 
It  is,  however,  utterly  erroneous  and  without  warrant  of  any  kind. 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  37 

It  needed  no  prophet  to  foretell  that  superior  effi- 
ciency in  defense  of  the  law  would  but  slightly  commend 
itself  to  law-breakers.  Although  no  strike  had  been 
yet  declared,  mining  in  this  section  was  at  the  moment 
suspended,  and  the  common  effects  of  idleness  were 
already  beginning  to  show.  On  the  morning  of  April 
4th,  the  Captain  of  "B"  Troop  received  a  request  to 
send  a  detail  to  Fernwood  Colliery.  Here  a  gang  of 
Italians,  denizens  of  "Boston  Patch, "  a  little  settle- 
ment partially  commanding  the  colliery  from  a  hillock 
not  two  hundred  yards  removed,  had  been  directing 
a  heavy  gun-fire  all  night  long  upon  the  laborers  in  the 
works.  The  roofs  and  walls  of  the  buildings  had  been 
repeatedly  splintered  by  bullets,  and  that  no  lives 
had  thus  far  been  lost  was  no  more  than  a  happy 
chance. 

Now,  " Boston  Patch"  was  a  typical  bad  spot,  a  sort 
of  bandits'  lair,  ever  fruitful  of  evil,  and  ever  avoided 
by  the  local  peace  officers  as  too  rough  a  matter  for 
their  handling.  So  " Boston  Patch"  had  waxed  fat  in 
iniquity,  according  to  its  way,  and  had  acquired  a 
leadership  among  the  tributary  hordes. 

The  Captain  of  "B"  Troop,  being  asked  for  help, 
sent  over  Sergeant  Garwood,  with  two  men.  A  mob  of 
five  hundred  Italian  rioters  met  him,  its  leaders  an- 
swering his  order  to  disperse  by  aiming  their  revolvers 
at  his  head.  Sergeant  Garwood  charged  the  mob  and 
the  leaders  ran  for  refuge  into  the  houses  of  "Boston 
Patch."  Sergeant  Garwood  telephoned  to  barracks  for 
aid.  The  Captain  sent  over  Sergeant  Dimon  and  ten  men. 
The  detail  then  went  through  "Boston  Patch"  and  re- 
moved an  arsenal  of  firearms  concealed  in  beds,  chimneys, 
and  walls.  All  disturbance  thereupon  ceased. 

In  this  instance,  the  easiest  two  things  in  the  world 


38  Justice  to  All 

for  the  detail  to  do  would  have  been  to  precipitate  a 
general  fight  resulting  in  widespread  bloodshed,  or  to 
retreat  without  action  before  superior  numbers.  But 
the  detail  precipitated  no  fight,  fired  no  shot,  confiscated 
the  guns  whose  very  possession  was  contrary  to  the  law, 
and  then  and  there  stopped  a  disorder  which,  without 
such  intervention,  must  have  made  many  widows  and 
orphans  and  must-have  sent  "Boston  Patch "  to  the 
gallows. 

By  these  facts  members  of  the  local  executive  board 
of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America  were  moved 
to  swear  out  warrants  for  the  troopers*  arrest.  The 
charge  preferred  was  that  of  trespass,  and  disorderly 
conduct  in  entering  houses  of  Italian  residents  and 
searching  for  weapons! 

Sergeant  Dimon  and  certain  troopers  were  accord- 
ingly arrested,  the  miners'  organization,  said  the  press 
dispatches,  supporting  the  prosecution.  The  result, 
aside  from  inflaming  the  passions  of  the  ignorant, 
sowing  seeds  of  blind  hatred,  and  wasting  the  time  of 
all  concerned,  could  naturally  be  nothing  more  than 
the  emphasizing  of  certain  ugly  questions  whose  re- 
appearance intelligent  friends  of  the  miners  deeply 
deplored.  Said  the  Philadelphia  Telegraphy  in  comment 
on  the  detail's  work: 

The  action  of  the  men  was  prompt,  unflinching,  and 
eminently  successful.  That  they  should  be  subjected  to 
arrest  for  doing  their  duty  .  .  .  seems  like  a  discouraging 
miscarriage  of  justice,  but  if  it  serves  to  establish  the  legal 
authority  of  the  Constabulary  on  a  firm  basis  and  enforces 
respect  for  the  personnel  of  the  force,  the  test  may  possibly 
serve  a  good  purpose.  It  should  be  the  part  of  all  good 
citizens,  however,  to  see  to  it  that  the  vindication  of  the 
men  has  their  unqualified  approval  and  support. 


Enter,  the  Black  Hussars  39 

But  grosser  influences  fanned  the  flame  to  spread, 
and  the  United  Mine  Workers,  in  local  convention  in 
Cleat-field,  were  now  led  to  pass  a  resolution  demanding 
the  repeal  of  the  State  Police  law,  and  calling  upon  all 
miners  to  support  only  such  legislative  candidates  as 
would  pledge  themselves  to  support  a  repeal  measure. 
The  Philadelphia  Press  now  exclaimed : 

It  is  just  this  sort  of  thing  that  is  injuring  the  mine 
workers'  cause.  In  years  past  the  coal  and  iron  police 
were  denounced  in  unmeasured  terms;  the  police  of  every 
city  or  borough  and  the  sheriff  of  every  county  that  organ- 
ized and  armed  a  posse  to  protect  life  and  property  in  the 
coal  regions  was  condemned  as  the  arch  enemy  of  organized 
labor.  In  other  words,  any  individual  invested  with  police 
power  is  the  enemy  of  the  striker,  no  matter  what  position 
he  may  hold.  .  .  .  The  resolution  of  the  United  Mine 
Workers  of  District  No.  2  may  be  the  forerunner  of  similar 
resolutions  from  other  bodies.  But  the  State  Constabulary 
has  come  to  stay. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  STATE  MADE  VISIBLE 

A  FEW  days  later,  on  April  12,  1906,  another  ebulli- 
tion occurred,  whose  chief  interest  lay  in  its  whimsi- 
cally ready  sequel.  On  the  afternoon  of  that  date 
some  forty  workmen  of  the  Franklin  Colliery,  a  property 
of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company  near  Wilkes- 
Barre,  were  carrying  coal  from  a  culm-bank  to  keep 
up  the  fires  for  the  pumps.  Mining  was  still  under 
suspension,  but  the  orders  of  the  president  of  the  miners' 
organization  expressly  permitted  the  continuance  of 
this  particular  work.  To  stop  the  pumps  means  to 
flood  the  mines,  to  destroy  the  property,  and  thereby 
to  cut  the  miners  off  from  their  one  and  only  means  of 
livelihood  when  they  shall  be  ready  to  return  to  work. 

Neverthless,  about  quitting  time  on  the  evening  of 
this  I2th  of  April,  a  mob  of  some  two  hundred  men 
gathered  about  Franklin  Colliery,  with  purpose  so 
apparent  that  the  county  sheriff  obviously  could  not 
handle  them  aided  by  his  deputies  alone.  And  the 
mob  rapidly  increased. 

By  the  time  Sergeant  Wilhelm  and  ten  troopers 
from  "B"  Troop  barracks,  answering  a  hurry  call, 
could  reach  the  scene,  a  thousand  rioters  had  stoned, 
knived,  and  clubbed  the  company's  handful  of  pump- 
men back  within  the  colliery  gates.  Now  they  were 
besieging  the  plant,  preparing  to  attack. 

Sergeant  Wilhelm,  through  an  interpreter,  called 

40 


The  State  Made  Visible  41 

upon  the  mob  to  disperse.  They  answered  with  hoots 
and  curses,  even  as  they  had  ever  been  wont  to  answer 
American  officers  of  law.  Sergeant  Wilhelm  informed 
them  that  by  disobedience  they  stood  in  peril  of  punish- 
ment. They  received  the  statement  with  derisive  mirth. 
Singling  out  two  ringleaders,  the  sergeant  called  upon 
that  pair  to  give  themselves  up.  The  mob  tumultuously 
supported  their  refusal. 

"I  shall  now  proceed  to  arrest  you  two  men,"  said 
the  sergeant,  "and  anyone  who  wants  to  get  hurt  will 
please  stay  in  the  way." 

Then,  led  by  their  sergeant,  the  troopers  rode  straight 
in,  using  their  sticks  as  necessary,  but  firing  no  shot. 
They  made  the  two  arrests.  They  next  very  thor- 
oughly dispersed  the  much-astonished  mob,  and  so, 
having  restored  order  and  having  handed  over  their 
prisoners  to  the  proper  authorities,  returned  to  barracks. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  perform- 
ance was  void  of  offense  to  all  save  such  as  "felt  the 
halter  draw."  One  honest  citizen  at  least  was  cut  to 
the  very  quick  thereby  and  in  a  place  where  cutting 
hurts.  His  wound  would  bear  no  concealment  but 
drove  him  to  instant  phlebotomy  of  ink,  in  which  at 
one  stroke  he  so  well  served  himself  that  no  less  inti- 
mate hand  should  be  laid  to  his  story.  His  name  and 
style  was  John  Sunday,  Constable,  and  Franklin  Col- 
liery lay  within  his  official  precincts.  Upon  the 
events  of  the  1 2th  of  April  he  issued  the  following  pro- 
clamation, as  seen  in  the  local  press: 

NOTICE  TO  POLICE 

April  13,  1906. 

To  any  member  of  the  State  Police  Force  under  the  Act 
of  May  2,  1905: 


42  Justice  to  All 

Please  take  notice  that  according  to  the  above  Act, 
Section  5,  your  duty  is  wherever  possible  to  cooperate  with 
the  local  authorities  in  detecting  crime,  etc.  I  am  the 
duly  elected  Constable  and  Peace  Officer  of  Wilkes-Barre 
Township,  Luzerne  County,  Pa.,  and  without  consulting 
or  cooperating  with  me  you  have  since  yesterday  arrested 
people  without  warrants  when  you  have  not  witnessed 
them  commit  any  crimes.  You  are  roaming  around  the 
streets  in  my  bailiwick  like  Russian  Cossacks  and  inciting 
the  peaceable  residents  of  said  township.  You  are  doing 
this  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  Therefore,  you  are 
hereby  notified  that  I  can  control  the  situation  myself  and 
I  have  not  been  notified  of  any  disturbance  and  if  I  am 
notified  I  will  guarantee  protection  and  if  in  need  of  assist- 
ance I  will  call  upon  you. 

Respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  SUNDAY, 
Constable  and  Peace  Officer. 

The  above  was  put  forth  on  Good  Friday. 

Now,  the  middle  district  of  Wilkes-Barre  township, 
Constable  Sunday's  bailiwick,  is  called  Georgetown. 
A  Wilkes-Barre  paper  of  the  day  describes  the  quarter 
as  having  at  the  time  about  eighteen  hundred  inhabi- 
tants, "  about  twenty  saloons,  one  wholesale  liquor 
store,  and  no  end  of  speak-easies."  It  adds  that  the 
preponderant  alien  population  is  "a  walking  arsenal" 
and  given  to  reckless  and  heavy  drinking.  And  this 
Georgetown,  diligently  gathering  impetus  all  Easter 
Even,  was  ready  on  Easter  morning  for  a  great  celebra- 
tion of  the  day. 

It  started  in  handsomely  with  a  dynamite  outrage, 
it  maintained  a  crescendo  of  terror,  colored  with  several 
stabbing  affairs,  through  the  hours  of  light,  and  it 
arose  by  nightfall  to  the  height  of  an  inclusive  riot, 
in  which  several  persons  were  hurt. 


The  State  Made  Visible  43 

One  of  the  victims  of  the  knife,  selfishly  unwilling  to 
impersonate  the  sacrificial  goat,  hastened  forthwith 
to  Alderman  Sullivan  and  swore  out  a  warrant  for  the 
arrest  of  a  certain  celebrant  on  charge  of  aggravated 
assault  and  battery  with  intent  to  kill.  Alderman 
Sullivan,  with  a  correctness  that  must  have  laid  balm 
to  the  so  recently  lacerated  feelings  of  Constable 
Sunday,  instantly  summoned  that  officer  and  placed 
the  warrant  in  his  hands  to  serve.  And  Constable 
Sunday,  stepping  high,  and  supported  by  several 
attendants,  set  forth  at  once  to  exercise  the  prerogative 
that  he  had  so  lately  claimed  for  his  very  own. 

The  constable,  continues  the  report,  reached  George- 
town at  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Proceed- 
ing to  the  boarding  house  of  his  prey,  he  easily  found 
that  tipsy  rascal  and  placed  him  under  arrest.  Con- 
ducting his  prisoner,  imposingly  manacled,  he  then 
set  out  on  a  triumphant  return  to  the  Alderman, 
through  the  Georgetown  streets. 

What  happened  next  is  a  little  beclouded.  Out  of 
the  cloud,  however,  some  solid  points  stand  clearly 
averred.  Georgetown,  perceiving  the  constable's  pro- 
cession, opened  its  arms  for  its  manacled  brother — 
demanded  him  back  with  emphasis  and  heat.  In  the 
argument  that  ensued  Constable  Sunday  and  his  sup- 
port, righteously  provoked,  discharged  their  revolvers, 
it  is  said,  wounding  one  matron  and  three  men.  After 
that  comes  a  hiatus  and  some  dust,  from  which  pres- 
ently emerge  the  figures  of  the  constable  and  his 
support,  departing  in  unusual  haste  across  fields;  and 
it  is  mentioned  that  at  this  time  they  were  minus  their 
prisoner  and  seemed  not  to  be  wearing  their  hats. 

The  next  definite  report  depicts  Alderman  Sullivan 
hastily  telephoning  to  "B"  Troop  barracks,  and  the 


44  Justice  to  All 

despatch  of  Sergeant  Garwood  in  compliance  with  the 
Alderman's  request.  Sergeant  Garwood  and  the  detail 
are  clearly  sighted  at  Georgetown  a  trifle  later.  There 
they  tidy  up  after  the  constable ;  they  collect  his  wounded 
and  convey  the  same  to  hospital,  they  arrest  his  late 
assailants.  But  shall  it  be  supposed  that  they  were 
permitted  to  do  this  thing  without  a  warrant,  in  the 
bailiwick  of  Constable  Sunday?  Never,  while  yet  the 
punctilious,  the  correct,  the  impeccable  Sullivan  rode 
the  storm! 

In  all  the  haste  of  the  troubled  night  this  admirable 
man  had  maintained  his  poise.  Far  be  it  from  him 
to  unleash  one  Russian  Cossack  without  due  impedi- 
ment of  law.  Sitting  down  quickly  after  summoning 
that  aid,  he  had  written  out  a  full  and  proper  warrant, 
whereby,  on  the  word  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Times,  the 
detail  was  formally  commissioned  to  arrest  the  George- 
town obstreperous  on  charge  of  "riot,  and  running  the 
constable  out  of  town  with  a  bucket  of  hot  water  and 
a  mop." 

Up  to  this  time  "A"  Troop  alone  of  all  the  Force 
had  been  spared  the  call  of  riot  duty.  But  on  the 
very  day  following  that  of  Constable  Sunday's  adven- 
tures an  event  of  quite  another  color  occurred  in  "A" 
Troop's  section  of  the  State. 

The  affair  at  Windber,  in  Somerset  County,  might 
well  be  termed  an  illustrative  tragedy.  In  the  coal 
mines  of  the  Berwind- White  Company  a  strike  had 
for  some  time  been  in  progress  and  feeling  among  the 
miners  was  running  high.  On  the  afternoon  of  April 
1 6th,  while  the  strikers  were  holding  a  meeting  in  a 
vacant  lot,  some  little  thing  arose  that  inspired  a 
deputy  sheriff  to  attempt  to  make  an  arrest  in  the 
crowd.  The  people,  irritated,  instantly  turned  upon 


The  State  Made  Visible  45 

him.  The  deputy  fled,  and,  it  was  reported,  firing 
as  he  ran,  sped  down  the  street  and  bolted  for  refuge 
into  a  strange  house. 

In  this  house,  as  it  chanced,  preparations  were  afoot 
for  the  marriage  of  a  daughter  next  day.  The  presents 
were  all  displayed,  a  new  piano  proudest  among  them, 
and  the  bride  and  her  mother  were  busy  baking  cakes. 
Upon  these  pretty  concerns  bursts,  like  a  thunderbolt, 
the  terror-stricken  deputy,  flying  for  his  life — and  on  his 
heels  the  now  furious  crowd.  In  an  instant's  time 
the  mob  had  broken  down  the  door,  smashed  every 
window,  splintered  the  precious  piano,  destroyed  all 
the  poor  little  wedding  furniture  and  the  gifts,  trampled 
the  cakes,  and  overset  the  kitchen  stove  to  start  a 
blaze! 

Now  to  the  rescue  came  rushing  a  swarm  of  sheriff's 
deputies.  Dashing  through  the  wreckage,  they  ex- 
humed their  fellow  from  his  cellar  hiding  place.  Then, 
snatching  a  handful  of  rioters  as  they  went,  they  ran 
for  the  jail.  For  a  moment  stayed,  the  mob  was  now 
up  again,  thrice  frantic,  on  the  heels  of  the  posse. 
Despite  all  threats  and  warnings,  it  gathered  apace, 
both  in  numbers  and  in  wrath,  packing  at  last  so  tight 
around  the  jail  that  even  its  own  power  to  stir  was  gone. 
And  it  clamored  for  the  surrender  of  the  prisoners. 

At  this  impossible  instant  someone  shouted  an  order 
to  disperse.  Then  a  man  in  the  mob  threw  a  brick, 
striking  a  deputy's  head.  Forthwith,  all  judgment, 
all  reason,  took  wings,  deserting  both  sides  alike. 

Some  unfortunate  with  the  sheriff  gave  the  word  to 
shoot.  The  first  volley  went  high.  Again  an  order— 
who  uttered  it  nobody  knew — and  the  bullets  drove 
straight  into  the  crowd.  Three  men — their  names 
were  Popovics,  Voicheck,  and  Thomon — dropped  dead. 


46  Justice  to  All 

One  little  ten-year-old  boy,  by  gross  carelessness  al- 
lowed abroad  on  such  a  day,  shrieked  with  a  mortal 
hurt. 

Suddenly  stunned,  the  crowd  stood  still.  With  the 
falling  of  its  dead  its  humor  changed.  But  now,  its 
silence  seemed  more  sinister  than  its  roar.  Slowly  the 
people  dispersed,  disappeared.  And  the  dead  lay 
where  they  fell. 

That  night  in  the  foreign  settlement  no  light  was 
lit,  but  in  the  houses  of  the  dead  stretched  empty  biers 
and  multitudinous  voices  of  wailing  burdened  the  hours. 
Danger  was  sensitized  to  the  last  degree.  But  a  touch, 
but  a  word,  would  unloose  the  worst. 

The  sheriff  had  a  host  of  deputies  under  arms — could 
get  as  many  more  as  he  liked  to  call.  But  he  had 
seen  their  work  and  its  effect.  He  trembled  before 
the  issue.  To  control  it  was  beyond  him  by  very  far. 
In  his  extremity,  then,  he  bethought  himself  of  the 
new,  the  untried  arm  of  the  State.  He  telegraphed 
for  help  to  the  Superintendent  of  State  Police. 

The  Captain  of  "A"  Troop,  at  the  Superintendent's 
command,  detailed  two  sergeants  with  twenty  mounted 
men.  The  detail  entrained  at  Greensburg  at  ten  o'clock 
that  Easter  Monday  night.  A  wreck  midway  on  the 
road  delayed  their  passage.  Farther  on,  at  Johnstown, 
some  sheriff's  men  boarded  the  train  long  enough  to 
say  that  dynamite  w^s  being  laid  on  the  track  ahead. 
From  that  point,  two  troopers  sat  on  the  cowcatcher 
keeping  watch. 

At  daybreak  the  special  pulled  into  the  terror- 
ridden  town.  Stopping  not  even  for  a  bite  of  food, 
the  troopers  plunged  straight  at  their  work,  serving  the 
sheriff's  warrants,  making  arrests,  searching  for  deadly 
weapons  wherever  such  might  be  concealed,  entering 


The  State  Made  Visible  47 

lairs  filled  with  masked  dangers,  groping  in  the  dark 
where  the  thrust  of  a  knife  driven  by  an  unseen  hand 
might  at  any  instant  pierce  their  hearts. 

Meantime,  through  an  interpreter,  the  lowering 
aliens  were  being  told  that  the  State  forbade  disorder 
and  that  the  State's  troopers  would  surely  see  to  it 
that  her  commands  were  literally  obeyed. 

All  day  the  detail  worked  ceaselessly.  Toward 
evening  First  Sergeant  Harris  felt  that  half  of  his  task 
was  done.  Therefore,  dividing  his  men  into  squads, 
he  began  quietly  to  patrol  the  town  and  its  environs. 
The  effect  upon  the  excited  aliens  was  magical.  These 
stern,  somber,  silent  horsemen  filled  their  souls  with 
stillness.  Without  the  striking  of  a  blow,  without  the 
pointing  of  a  weapon,  they  understood  that  this 
new  power  was  power  indeed — the  Power  of  the 
State,  till  now  unseen;  they  understood  that  it  was 
inexorable,  impersonal,  calm  as  death;  that  it  must  be 
obeyed. 

"Ah,  hussars!  Me  no  like!"  one  Slav  was  heard  to 
exclaim  as  a  patrol  rode  by. 

But  Sheriff  Begley  gave  thanks  as  a  man  delivered 
from  a  great  dread.  He  saw  that  his  troubles  were 
over — that  he  need  shed  no  more  blood — that  no  more 
blood  would  be  shed.  "The  State  Troopers,"  he  re- 
joiced, as  the  press  gave  his  words,  "are  more  effective 
in  preserving  peace  than  an  army  of  deputies." 

But  the  little  "A"  Troop  detail,  every  man  of  it, 
worked  forty-eight  hours  to  perfect  that  task  before 
it  took  its  first  wink  of  sleep. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  dangerous  riots  evolving 
from  conditions  generated  through  labor  disputes 
sprang  up  in  each  instance  among  the  unassimilated 
foreign  element  of  the  population.  Weighted  with 


48  Justice  to  All 

bitter  memories  of  state's  officers  in  the  country  of 
their  birth,  understanding  nothing  of  the  principles 
of  self-government  as  maintained  in  the  country  of 
their  asylum,  knowing  little  or  naught  of  the  English 
language,  constantly  excited  not  only  by  agitators  but 
by  unprincipled  caterings  on  the  part  of  a  certain  small 
but  vitriolic  element  of  the  press,  these  rudimentary 
minds  could  learn  obedience  to  the  State  only  by 
object-lessons  at  close  range.  Such  were  the  reasons 
why  the  aliens  of  Northumberland  County  now  invited 
their  separate  lesson,  ignoring  the  experience  that  their 
brothers  had  so  recently  gained. 

The  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company's  mines  near 
Mount  Carmel,  Northumberland  County,  were  at  this 
time  shut  down,  under  the  miners'  edict  of  suspension 
of  work.  One  gang  of  men,  however,  was  still  employed 
in  building  a  breaker  and  sinking  a  shaft.  According 
to  the  news  despatches  of  the  day,  a  mass  meeting  of 
aliens  held  on  the  night  of  April  29th  was  addressed 
with  unusual  virulence  by  incendiary  agitators  in  the 
aliens'  tongues.  Informed  that  the  purpose  of  this 
activity  was  to  incite  an  attack  upon  their  workmen, 
the  officials  of  the  coal  company  at  once  appealed 
to  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  to  the  burgess  of  the  town, 
and  to  the  vice-president  of  the  local  mine  workers' 
union,  to  avert  violence. 

Despite  this  effort,  the  report  continues,  when  the 
little  gang  of  twenty  workmen  started  for  their  homes 
on  the  night  of  the  29th,  they  were  set  upon  by  a  mob 
of  some  three  hundred  foreigners,  stoned,  beaten, 
bruised,  and  one  man  shot.  Burgess  Penman,  himself 
a  member  of  the  miners'  union,  is  depicted  as  feebly 
protesting,  hustled,  mauled,  and  thrust  aside.  The 
sheriff,  urgently  importuned,  unable  to  secure  deputies, 


The  State  Made  Visible  49 

and  profoundly  alarmed  by  the  whole  situation,  sent 
in  a  desperate  appeal  to  the  State  Police. 

A  detail  from  "C"  Troop,  composed  of  twenty- two 
mounted  men  under  command  of  Lieutenant  C.  P. 
Smith,  and  armed  only  with  sticks  and  revolvers, 
reached  Mount  Carmel  at  five  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing. Stabling  their  horses  at  once,  the  troopers 
marched  into  town  for  breakfast.  Like  angry  Goths 
the  rioting  foreigners  swarmed  about  their  line,  jeering, 
howling,  threatening.  At  the  first  tavern,  food  was 
refused.  At  the  second,  a  place  of  better  standing, 
the  cooks  and  waitresses  would  not  serve  the  Police, 
but  the  proprietor  offered  them  his  larder  with  permis- 
sion to  serve  themselves.  So  the  detail  went  into  the 
tavern  kitchen  and  cooked  their  own  breakfast. 

Meantime,  the  crowd  was  swelling;  Poles,  Lithu- 
anians, Italians,  Huns,  came  pouring  in  from  the  "  min- 
ing patches,"  their  always  ready  passion  inflamed  with 
wayside  drinks  and  fanned  to  greater  fury  by  the 
orators  in  their  ranks.  What  followed  is  briefly  told 
in  the  Superintendent's  report  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

When  the  Police  came  out  from  breakfast,  they  were  met 
by  a  howling  mob  .  .  .  and  as  they  started  up  the  street 
they  were*  immediately  surrounded  by  about  one  thousand 
men  howling  and  cursing  at  them,  and  throwing  bricks  and 
rocks.  Privates  Miller  and  Koch  were  both  struck  on  the 
head  and  knocked  down.  The  detail  charged  the  mob  with 
clubs,  arrested  several  of  the  ringleaders,  and  took  them 
before  Burgess  Penman.  When  the  Police  left  the  Burgess's 
office  they  were  again  attacked  and  Privates  Snyder  and 
Crossland  were  knocked  down  with  rocks.  With  four 
injured  policemen  to  care  for,  the  remaining  men  fought 
the  mob  with  clubs  for  eight  blocks,  when  someone  in  the 
mob  commenced  firing.  This  immediately  became  general 


50  Justice  to  All 

[with  the  mob]  and  several  of  the  mob  were  seen  to  use 
shotguns  and  pistols  from  behind  trees  and  from  windows 
and  housetops.  The  Lieutenant  commanding  then  gave 
the  order  to  fire  and  clear  the  way  back  to  the  horses. 
Several  of  the  mob  were  wounded  but  none  seriously.  The 
following  morning  the  balance  of  Troop  "C"  arrived  and 
a  detail  under  Captain  Page  from  Troop  "B."  Regular 
patrols  through  the  town  were  established  and  maintained 
day  and  night  for  several  days,  but  after  the  first  day  there 
was  not  a  sign  of  disorder.  Private  Crossland,  whose  skull 
was  fractured  by  a  rock,  has  not  yet  been  able  to  return  to 
duty.  In  the  Mount  Carmel  disturbance,  the  sheriff  of  the 
county  called  on  the  Department  for  assistance  and  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  Troop  left  the  town  and  refused  to  return. 

A  laugh  went  up  from  all  over  the  State  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  unhappy  sheriff.  Blame  from  all  quarters 
descended  upon  his  head,  together  with  a  gnat-like 
swarm  of  sobriquets.  But  what,  after  all,  had  been 
his  situation?  Said  the  Philadelphia  Ledger,  in  an 
editorial  on  the  affair: 

The  sheriff  of  the  county  .  .  .  stood  absolutely  alone 
in  the  community.  All  the  local  officials — the  burgess  of 
the  town,  the  local  police  officers,  and  the  whole  popula- 
tion— were  ranged  solidly  against  the  sheriff  and  his 
authority. 

...  It  is  altogether  likely  that  if  the  Constabulary  had 
not  protected  itself  it  would  have  been  utterly  wiped  out 
or  utterly  disgraced,  its  authority  and  usefulness  entirely 
destroyed,  and  a  state  of  anarchy  invited  in  that  region. 

The  Philadelphia  Press,  dwelling  on  the  gravity  of 
the  situation,  asked: 

Who  stood  for  the  law?  ...  An  attack  on  the  police 
was  an  attack  on  the  law.  All  men  know  this.  Foreigners 


The  State  Made  Visible  51 

as  they  were,  not  a  man  in  the  crowd  besetting  the  hotel 
where  the  State  Police  was  breakfasting  but  knew  that 
violence  to  the  police  was  violence  to  the  law.  It  must  be 
understood  in  every  part  of  the  Commonwealth  that  an 
officer  of  the  peace  will  be  protected  in  doing  his  duty  by 
all  the  power  of  the  State. 

The  Telegraph  expressed  unreserved  indignation  in 
rehearsing  the  event: 

When  the  duly  authorized  officers  of  this  Commonwealth 
are  attacked  by  an  armed  mob  simply  because  they  repre- 
sent the  State,  it  is  time  the  power  and  dignity  of  the  com- 
munity should  be  made  manifest  in  so  effective  a  fashion 
that  the  demonstration  will  never  be  forgotten.  ...  If 
further  punishment  is  needed  to  teach  these  wild  aliens 
due  respect  for  the  majesty  of  the  law,  it  is  far  better  and 
far  more  merciful  to  them  that  such  further  punishment  be 
administered  now.  .  .  .  The  alien  element  .  .  .  must  be 
taught  that  the  Commonwealth  will  preserve  the  public 
peace  and  maintain  its  supremacy  at  all  costs;  and  must 
learn,  also,  that  the  State  Police  represent  the  State  and  that 
the  officers  of  this  force  are  to  be  respected  and  obeyed. 

To  those  unfamiliar  with  the  time  and  place,  it  may 
seem  incomprehensible  that  journals  of  the  first  class 
could  find  extended  space  in  their  editorial  columns 
for  the  repetition  of  truisms  as  self-evident  as  those 
just  cited  from  the  Philadelphia  press.  But  these 
were  moments  when  it  behooved  the  friends  of  truth 
to  proclaim  her  from  the  housetops,  lest  the  din  of 
malice  and  ignorance  deceive  the  people  utterly. 
Quick  to  perceive  their  opportunity,  the  professional 
mongers  of  sensationalism,  throughout  the  country, 
seized  upon  the  first  telegrams  of  the  Mount  Carmel 
affair  to  concoct  a  lurid  fantasy. 


52  Justice  to  All 

They  invented  a  scene  of  gore  and  carnage,  of  brutal 
and  wanton  dragooning,  of  heartrending  martyrdom 
of  the  innocent  and  unoffending  people.  Out  of  the 
curious  fabric  of  their  brains  they  composed  a  death- 
roll  and  steeped  it  in  the  blood  of  little  children.  They 
fished  from  the  depths  of  their  own  ink-wells  details 
of  insensate  villainies.  They  busily  besmudged  from 
view  the  unchallengeable  figure  of  the  State  wie&ing 
in  majesty  her  Arm  of  Law.  And  they  isolated  the 
inisolable  Arm  itself,  to  discredit  it  as  the  mercenary 
sword  of  capital,  foisted  upon  the  people  in  lying  guise, 
the  more  surely  to  slash  out  their  lives. 

It  is  impossible  to  attribute  sincerity  to  an  attack  so 
conceived — to  do  so  would  be  too  greatly  to  underrate 
the  intelligence  of  those  who  led  it.  But  the  poor 
creatures  whose  groping  minds  and  red-eyed  passions 
these  calculated  panderings  spurred,  lacked  wit  to 
understand  the  game  that  victimized  them.  Easily 
duped,  they  fell  into  the  snare.  And  then  and  there 
was  the  seed  sown  that  was  to  breed  a  harvest  of  vio- 
lence, folly,  and  lies  in  the  years  to  come. 

Such  of  the  lesser  town  and  county  papers  as  had 
no  principles  to  sacrifice  were  quick  to  follow  the  example 
of  the  masters  in  their  field.  In  their  little  way,  they, 
too,  busied  themselves  in  inventing  tales  and  phrases 
in  vilification  of  the  State  Police. 

"But  you  know  not  a  word  of  this  is  true ! "  exclaimed 
an  outraged  protestant  to  one  such  editor. 

"Aw,  sure  I  do!  But  do  you  think  I'm  in  this  busi- 
ness for  my  health?  I  sell  my  paper  to  the  dagoes, 
and  I  give  'em  what  they  like.  They  don't  like  spring- 
water,  they  like  rum,"  came  the  frank  reply. 

To  the  credit  of  the  Pennsylvania  press  it  must  be 
testified  that  very  few  of  its  organs  were  low  enough  to 


The  State  Made  Visible  53 

fill  their  pockets  by  means  so  base.     Said  the  Scranton 
Tribune  at  this  juncture: 

We  are  of  the  opinion  that  a  publisher  who  stoops  to 
this  kind  of  journalism  for  the  purpose  of  gain  ...  is 
sowing  the  wind.  Recent  developments  have  proved  that 
the  mob  element  in  Pennsylvania  is  not  large  enough  to 
be  profitable  to  any  newspaper  and  decent  people  cannot 
fail  to  be  disgusted  at  any  publication  that  seeks  to  increase 
its  store  by  making  appeals  to  a  class  that  is  the  enemy  of 
all  government. 

Nevertheless,  such  virus  spreads  quickly  where  it  can 
spread  at  all,  and  it  was  a  thousand  pities  that  a  man  so 
powerful  for  good  as  the  President  of  the  United  Mine 
Workers  of  America  should  not  have  found  instant 
occasion  to  check  its  malignant  growth.  "This  is 
the  moment,"  said  the  Ledger,  "when  President  Mitch- 
ell's ability  and  wisdom  will  be  put  to  the  test,"  and 
not  few,  nor  low  nor  narrowly  confined,  rose  the  voices 
of  disappointment  when  that  wisdom  spoke.  Even 
in  far-away  Wisconsin,  the  sober  Milwaukee  Sentinel 
quoted  it  with  reproach: 

Mr.  Mitchell  said:  "The  presence  of  these  troopers  at 
Mount  Carmel  seems  to  confirm  the  fears  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  State  Constabulary  is  an  attempt  to  in- 
corporate a  Russian  institution  in  this  country."  What 
stuff  and  nonsense  that  is !  The  State  Police  are  no  more 
a  Russian  institution  than  the  city  police.  The  people  of 
this  country  think  pretty  well  of  John  Mitchell  but  a  man 
of  his  intelligence  and  staunch  Americanism  ought  to  be  in 
better  business  than  this  taking  a  hint  from  the  ignorance 
of  the  horde  of  foreigners  in  the  coal  regions  and  echoing 
their  delusion  about  and  hatred  for  anything  in  the  shape 
of  an  armed  and  uniformed  guardian  of  the  peace.  .  .  > 
Mr.  Mitchell,  as  an  American  citizen  and  intelligent  labor 


54  Justice  to  All 

leader,  with  the  welfare  of  his  followers  at  heart,  ought  to 
explain  to  these  immigrants  from  tyranny-ridden  coun- 
tries, who  come  here  to  get  American  wages  and  requite 
hospitality  by  breaking  American  laws,  the  difference 
between  a  Cossack  and  a  peace  officer  of  the  republican 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  Instead  of  that,  he  ap- 
pears to  be  plajdng  on  their  ignorance  and  unreasoning 
passion,  with  his  clap-trap  about  a  "Russian  institution." 

Meantime,  Pennsylvania  at  large  was  arriving  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  probation  period  of  her  State 
Police  was  served  out.  Even  the  clergy  now  took 
definite  stand.  Among  them,  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Charles  Wadsworth  of  Philadelphia,  dealing  in  a 
sermon  with  the  Mount  Carmel  affair,  did  not  hesitate 
to  say: 

Every  trooper  represented  the  flag.  To  attack  these 
representatives  of  the  Government  was  as  great  a  crime  as 
firing  on  Fort  Sumter.  All  honor  to  the  captain  and  the 
men  of  his  troop  who  faced  danger  in  a  hotbed  of  anarchy 
to  maintain  the  stability  of  the  State. 

And  the  Susquehanna  Lutheran  Synod,  representing 
thirteen  thousand  clergy  and  communicants  in  the 
region  comprising  Mount  Carmel  and  the  troubled 
coal  field  round  about,  sitting  in  annual  convention 
in  Hazleton,  a  coal  field  town,  shortly  after  the  Mount 
Carmel  affair  unanimously  passed  a  resolution  which 
read  thus: 

In  view  of  the  vastly  increasing  population  which  is 
slowly  assimilated  with  our  character  and  institutions  and 
the  many  instances  of  lawlessness  and  wickedness  which 
often  make  life  and  virtue  unsafe  throughout  our  State, 
we  recognize  the  creation  of  the  State  Constabulary  as  a 
step  in  the  direction  of  the  protection  of  our  lives  and 


The  State  Made  Visible  55 

property  as  well  as  the  preservation  of  order  and  morals. 
And  so  long  as  this  arm  of  the  law  shall  be  used  without 
respect  of  persons,  organizations,  or  corporations,  and 
devoted  to  the  general  advancement  of  morals,  good  order, 
and  the  protection  of  life  and  property,  it  shall  have  our 
sympathy  and  support.  We  believe,  as  Paul  wrote  to  the 
Romans,  ''Let  my  soul  be  subject  to  the  higher  powers. 
Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the  power  resisteth  the  or- 
dinance of  God.  For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works, 
but  to  the  evil." 

The  Convention  voted  to  send  copies  of  the  resolu- 
tion to  the  Governor  and  to  the  State  Legislature. 
And  the  mining-town  Lutheran  pastor  who  transmitted 
a  copy  to  the  Public  Ledger  took  the  occasion  to  give 
public  thanks  for  that  paper's  steady  support  of  the 
State  Police. 

While  general  opinion  was  thus  being  cast  by  the 
course  of  daily  events,  the  busy  exploiters  of  the  gullible 
vote  were  laying  their  sluices  for  a  long  run  of  political 
pay  dirt.  Their  practiced,  appraising  eyes  joyfully 
saw  in  the  State  Police  an  ore-bank  that  could  be 
worked  with  rich  profit  to  themselves  just  as  long  as 
their  public  could  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  truth. 
They  knew  but  too  well  how  pitifully  easy  it  was  to 
stop  that  public's  ears  and  blind  its  eyes,  and,  them- 
selves more  pitiful  by  far  than  the  unfortunates  whose 
trust  they  thus  betrayed,  they  set  to  work — on  the 
only  kind  of  work  that  such  beings  care  to  do. 

Mount  Carmel  had  given  them  their  concrete  cue. 
Up  to  the  creation  of  the  State  Police  such  an  affair 
would  have  meant  a  bloody  and  destructive  riot  and 
the  calling  out  of  the  National  Guard.  Then  the  thrifty 
speculators  must  have  had  to  curse  the  National  Guard 
and  deluge  with  extravagant  invectives  those  craven 


56  Justice  to  All 

souls  who,  wearing  the  uniform  of  the  State,  would 
obey  an  officer's  orders  to  fire  upon  their  brethren. 

But  the  National  Guard  is  a  little  large,  a  little 
vague  in  outline,  a  little  general  in  composition,  for 
effective  and  profitable  cursing.  Beside,  large  sums 
of  taxpayers'  money  were  consumed  each  time  that 
the  National  Guard  was  dragged  into  the  field;  and 
to  impede  its  work  meant  to  increase  the  cost,  eventu- 
ally perceiving  which,  taxpayers  might  grow  restless. 
Whereas,  this  new  arm,  this  State  Police,  ridiculously 
email  though  it  was,  bade  fair  in  the  domestic  field  to 
relieve  the  Guard  entirely;  and,  utterly  out  of  politics, 
self -stripped  of  every  form  of  "pull,"  it  had  no  bulwark, 
no  "organization,"  no  lobby,  and  therefore  could  be 
attacked  with  sweeping  ease.  No  taxpayer  was  watch- 
ing to  see  it  allowed  fair  field  to  earn  its  pay,  for  to 
quell  a  riot  with  the  State  Police  cost  the  counties  not 
a  cent,  and  cost  the  State  no  more  than  to  leave  its 
State  Police  at  home  on  its  daily  routine  duty.  Even 
transportation  of  horses  came  out  of  the  fixed  annual 
appropriation.  And  the  men  rationed  themselves 
from  their  sixty  dollars  a  month,  wherever  they  might 
,  be.  Moreover,  there  was  their  undeniable,  their  in- 
escapable, their  so  beautifully  damnable  efficiency! 
This  at  least  was  sound  ground  and  needed  no  masking. 

Major-General  Charles  Bowman  Dougherty,  com- 
manding the  Pennsylvania  Division  of  the  National 
Guard,  attested  the  firmness  of  that  terrain  years  later, 
still  inspired  by  the  Mount  Carmel  theme. 

At  Mount  Carmel  [said  the  General],  the  State  Police 
did  such  splendid  work  in  suppressing  mob  violence,  and 
did  it  so  effectively,  so  quickly,  and  so  differently  from  the 
way  of  the  National  Guard,  that  all  the  labor  agitators  put 
up  a  fearful  howl  at  once.  It  amounts  to  this:  The  vio- 


The  State  Made  Visible  57 

lators  of  law  in  Pennsylvania  respect  the  National  Guard 
and  stand  in  awe  of  their  power,  while  with  the  State  Police 
they  not  only  stand  in  awe  but  in  fear.  One  troop  of  the 
State  Police  will  accomplish  as  much  as  a  regiment  of 
infantry — and  do  it  quicker. 

But  a  great  and  cruel  wickedness  was  afoot.  And  it 
came  from  the  door  of  those  who,  themselves  not 
ignorant,  led  the  ignorant  masses  of  the  poor  to  look 
upon  the  State  Made  Visible  as  their  enemy. 


CHAPTER  V 

WHO  STANDS  FOR   THE  LAW? 

pN. 

BY  the  first  of  May,  1906,  the  State  Police  Force 
had  been  two  months  on  active  duty.  In  that  brief 
period  it  had  completed  its  probation  and  had  definitely 
aligned  its  friends  and  its  foes.  Those  elements  of 
public  thought  that  sincerely  desired  to  see  the  Force 
make  good  and  had  watched  it  the  more  anxiously  and 
critically  on  that  account,  now  proclaimed  themselves 
satisfied  that  the  new  Department  needed  but  time  to 
perfect  itself  and  that  it  had  already  passed  far  beyond 
debatable  ground.  On  the  other  hand,  those  whose 
schemes  were  served  by  attacks  upon  the  State  now 
definitely  proclaimed  their  enmity,  chose  their  battle 
cry — "Down  with  the  Cossacks!" — and  declared  war. 

The  rapidity  with  which  all  this  was  accomplished 
is  a  matter  of  cardinal  significance.  Had  the  Force 
been  recruited  from  raw  material,  however  fine  the 
quality,  such  results  could  never  have  been  obtained. 
But  Captain  Groome  had  grasped  that  fact  at  the  start. 
He  had  foreseen  the  economy  to  the  State  that  must 
result  from  choosing  his  personnel  from  the  picked 
graduates  of  the  non-commissioned  army  line.  In 
choosing  men  who  had  already  learned  to  obey  and  to 
impose  obedience,  learned  self-restaint,  learned  love  of 
country,  devotion  to  duty  and  firmness  of  purpose, 
men,  moreover,  possessed  by  nature  of  the  sterling 
qualities  that  bear  to  credit  in  such  a  field,  Captain 

58 


Who  Stands  for  the  Law?  59 

Groome  well  knew  that  he  gained  for  the  State  the 
progress  of  years  in  a  single  day. 

Further,  the  men  that  he  selected  had  sharpened 
their  wits  all  over  the  world,  against  the  wits  of  yellow 
men,  brown  men,  and  white.  Their  minds  were  keen 
and  practiced.  Their  lives  and  the  lives  of  others  had 
of  wont  depended  on  the  justness  of  their  reasoning, 
on  the  clearness  of  their  decisions  made  in  the  time  a 
trigger  takes  to  drop.  Sergeant  Garwood,  for  example, 
he  who  conducted  the  ugly  "Boston  Patch"  affair  to 
its  quick  and  bloodless  end,  had  rounded  off  a  long 
regular  army  service  with  some  years'  work  in  the 
Philippine  Constabulary,  from  which  body  he  had 
retired  with  the  rank  of  Major  just  previous  to  his 
enlistment  with  the  State  Police. 

To  run  through  the  roster  of  the  Force  would  be  to 
produce  a  good  majority  of  men  of  like  experience  and 
character.  Such  as  fell  below  were  eventually  dis- 
carded in  the  evolution  of  works  and  days.  In  a  per- 
sonnel of  fiber  such  as  this,  knitted  together  by  the 
free-masonry  of  the  past,  and  now  allied  by  a  common 
exalted  purpose — the  purpose  to  make  of  the  little 
brotherhood  "the  finest  thing  in  the  world," — it  was 
certain  that  an  esprit  de  corps  would  spring  up  with 
speed  to  fight  like  an  army  with  banners  for  success. 

"A  State  Policeman  cannot  fail,"  the  captain  had 
said  at  the  start.  Prophecy  and  inspiration,  far  more 
than  command,  had  spoken  in  the  well-remembered 
phrase. 

After  the  Mount  Carmel  affair,  those  who  had  adopted 
"Down  with  the  Cossack!"  as  their  trade-mark  kept 
a  vigilant  watch  for  opportunities  to  bring  it  before 
their  public's  eye.  It  will  not  be  necessary  to  follow 
their  course  with  continued  attention;  a  sufficient 


60  Justice  to  All 

passing  example  may  be  found  in  the  incident  of  the 
eighth  of  June. 

At  this  period,  a  strike  was  in  progress  in  Indiana 
County,  in  the  new  mining  town  of  Ernest.  At  the 
request  of  the  sheriff,  a  detail  of  State  Police  had  been 
sent  to  assist  in  keeping  peace.  On  June  8th,  the 
sheriff,  his  posse  of  deputies,  and  his  State  Police  aids 
came  in  contact  with  a  strikers'  parade.  One  of  the 
strikers  threatening  to  shoot  Sergeant  Ward,  com- 
manding the  State  Police  detail,  the  sergeant  disarmed 
him.  At  that,  the  strikers  opened  fire,  wounding  one 
of  the  sheriff's  deputies,  and  the  sheriff's  deputies 
fired  back,  killing  one  striker  and  wounding  others. 
A  subsequent  examination  conclusively  proved,  first 
to  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  afterward  to  the  court, 
that  throughout  the  entire  affair  not  one  member  in 
the  State  Police  detachment  had  fired  a  shot. 

Nevertheless,  Edward  McKay,  a  national  labor 
organizer,  was  quoted  as  saying  next  day:  "The  affair 
at  Ernest  was  uncalled  for  and  brutal.  I  am  sure  that 
.  .  .  the  aggressors  were  the  State  Constabulary," 
while  reports  of  President  Feehan  and  other  "leaders" 
luridly  colored  the  headlines  of  the  lurid  press. 

The  facts  in  this  instance  were  so  quickly  and  so 
conclusively  revealed  that  newspapers  of  the  better 
class  called  on  those  who  had  spread  the  first  wild 
stories  for  retraction.  Even  beyond  the  State's 
boundaries  a  chorus  of  reproof  was  heard,  such  journals 
as  the  Boston  Advertiser  pointing  out  the  offense  to 
national  welfare  that  lay  in  such  wanton  misuses  of 
the  gift  of  speech. 

"If  the  State  Constabulary  had  been  the  only  force 
sent  out  against  the  rioting  miners,  there  probably 
would  have  been  no  shooting,"  concluded  the  Advertiser, 


Who  Stands  for  the  Law?  61 

"but  just  as  surely  the  riot  would  have  been  broken 
up." 

It  was  during  this  general  period  that  the  Force  be- 
gan its  patrol  duty, — a  duty  thenceforth  to  constitute 
the  great  bulk  of  its  work,  and  which  was  soon  to  reach 
and  maintain  a  state  of  high  efficiency.  Such  efficiency 
could  be  acquired  only  through  intelligent  and  practical 
experiment,  like  that  now  begun.  The  original  patrols 
went  out  from  the  barracks  by  twos,  for  all-day  tours 
over  indicated  routes.  Twenty  men  thus  spent  a  day 
in  the  saddle,  leaving  the  remainder  of  the  troop  in 
barracks  for  barracks  work  and  for  emergency  call, 
while  on  the  day  following  another  twenty  took  their 
turn  abroad.  Each  patrolling  unit,  following  its  own 
route  of  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  miles,  called  upon  the 
peace  officers  and  principal  men  of  each  village  through 
which  it  passed,  to  inquire  the  state  of  the  countryside 
and  to  offer  aid  where  required ;  called  as  well  upon  the 
postmasters  not  only  for  news  of  the  public  peace, 
but  also  to  get  the  imprint  of  the  postmaster's  cancel- 
lation stamp  in  a  book  carried  for  this  purpose.  This 
latter  step  was  taken  as  providing  to  the  Troop  com- 
mander a  proof  that  his  officers  had  properly  made 
their  tours. 

That  the  initiation  of  patrol  service  had  been  de- 
layed until  now  was  due  to  several  causes,  among 
which  largely  figured  the  press  of  original  constructive 
work.  But  the  chief  reason  for  delay  lay  in  the  deter- 
mination of  the  Superintendent  to  send  no  man  out 
on  a  service  where  his  own  judgment  and  his  own 
knowledge  of  the  law  must  be  his  guide  in  action,  until 
that  man  should  be  so  solidly  grounded  as  to  minimize 
the  chances  for  a  mistake. 

If  a  body  as  small  as  the  State  Police  is  to  be  effective, 


62  Justice  to  All 

that  effectiveness  must  rest  on  a  foundation  of  evidence 
that  its  position  is  always  right.  Let  it  once  be 
seen  that  the  officer,  bringing  his  prisoner  before  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  is  likely  himself  to  be  found  in 
error  as  to  the  law,  and  the  prestige  of  the  whole  Force 
suffers  mortally  thereby.  Therefore,  Captain  Groome 
elected  to  keep  his  four  Troops,  man  for  man,  under 
their  officers'  eyes  until  such  time  as  each  should  have 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  law  fitting  him  properly 
to  handle  any  situation  that  he  was  likely  to  meet. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  patrol,  a  new  day 
dawned  in  the  affected  regions.  The  farmer  is  by 
nature  a  thorough  conservative.  The  typical  farmer 
had  resisted  the  creation  of  the  State  Police  Depart- 
ment with  the  arguments  that  it  meant  a  great  public 
expense,  that  it  would  be  used  for  base  purposes  of 
political  graft,  sometimes  even  that  it  was  not  needed. 
He  had  been  assured  that  the  State  Police  was  designed 
as  a  rural  patrol,  and  when  half  a  year  passed  without 
his  seeing  such  a  patrol,  he  grew  restive  and  expressed 
incredulity.  When  at  last  the  officers  did  appear  he 
rather  resented  their  appearance  as  an  intrusion,  an 
impertinence.  But,  because  the  farmer  is  a  conser- 
vative, he  is  also  a  man  of  thrift  and  a  devotee  of  order 
and  peace.  And  so  it  took  but  a  reasonable  period  of 
actual  experience  to  convert  him  solidly  to  the  support 
of  his  new  friends. 

This  conversion  was  a  fabric  of  most  varied  pattern. 
Every  element  entered  into  its  woof,  for  every  enemy 
that  had  been  wont  to  disturb  the  farmer's  tranquillity 
now  met  an  abrupt  check.  In  Berks  County,  for 
example,  rural  Sundays  had  been  cursed  these  many 
years  with  a  miserable  pest  of  "keg-parties."  A  "keg- 
party"  betokened  the  acquisition  by  a  crowd  of  roisterers 


Who  Stands  for  the  Law?  63 

of  a  keg  of  something  alcoholic,  which  object  they  would 
convey  to  a  pleasant  roadside  spot  and  there  spend  a 
long  day,  making  the  highway  offensive  and  even  dan- 
gerous to  country  folk  on  their  way  to  church,  and  to 
all  decent  passers-by.  It  was  early  in  June  that  a 
"C"  Troop  patrol,  riding  down  a  river  lane  one  bright 
Sunday  afternoon,  came  upon  a  "keg-party"  in  full 
swing.  Said  the  Reading  Herald,  a  paper  that  until 
now  had  missed  no  chance  to  attack  the  Police: 

They  were  reveling  furiously  down  by  the  riverside 
when  the  constable  went  by.  Had  he  been  better  used  to 
our  Sabbath  ways  and  more  inured  to  our  primeval  habits, 
he  would  have  whistled  the  Doxology  and  looked  the  other 
way.  But  he  was  new  and  fresh  and  unsophisticated,  hence 
he  was  interested.  He  beheld  "a  keg  of  Stocker's  under- 
neath a  bough"  .  .  .  and  the  victims  of  it  spread  about 
on  the  grassy  heath.  Other  victims  livelier  than  they  were 
pummeling  each  other  in  good  old  Sunday  fashion,  and 
one  or  two  of  them  seemed  to  be  engaged  in  a  mele*e  with 
knives.  The  cop  deemed  that  his  services  were  needed. 
He  dismounted  and  stopped  the  row.  The  keg-party 
came  to  a  premature  finality.  And  the  newspapers  were 
spared  the  details  of  a  Sabbath-Day  slaughter. 

Continuing,  this  yet  hostile  journal  concedes  that 
the  State  might  undertake  business  far  worse  than  the 
patrolling  of  mountains  and  vales  and  byways  on 
summer  Sundays  and  routing  the  roistering  keg-parties 
that  have  made  Reading  famous. 

They  will  never  be  routed  by  any  other  means.  They 
are  beyond  the  beat  of  the  city  police  for  the  most  part. 
The  township  constables  don't  care.  The  judges  usually 
fulminate  from  the  bench,  but  the  happy  keg-drainers 
only  laugh  at  that.  If,  however,  there  was  danger  that 


64  Justice  to  All 

a  State  cop  might  come  galloping  by  at  any  moment,  the 
edge  of  the  party  givers'  joy  might  be  seriously  dulled. 

"The  danger  that  a  State  cop  might  come  galloping 
by,"  proved  in  fact  a  deterrent  not  potential  but  posi- 
tive, and  of  the  first  order.  By  that  mysterious  current 
that  runs  its  quickest  with  the  evilly  disposed,  know- 
ledge spread  that  the  State  Police  never  slept  and  never 
"bluffed,"  knowledge  that  a  State  Policeman  could 
not  be  bought  off  with  the  amount  of  the  fine  paid 
into  his  own  palm — knowledge  that  the  State  Policeman 
would  do  his  full  duty  to  the  finish,  and  do  it  on  the 
spot. 

A  survey  of  Berks  County  farmers'  opinion,  taken 
by  the  Reading  Herald,  after  the  patrol  had  been  in 
operation  for  three  months,  revealed  an  accomplished 
revolution  in  their  minds.  One  man  rejoiced  in  com- 
plete deliverance  from  the  pest  of  chicken  thieves. 
Another  testified  to  his  satisfaction  in  seeing  at  last  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  forbidding  the  sale  of  liquor  to 
intoxicated  persons.  A  third  stated  that  the  tramps 
that  formerly  pervaded  the  region,  robbing  the  farms 
and  terrifying  women  in  isolated  houses,  had  fled 
utterly.  A  fourth,  who  lived  near  a  picnic  ground, 
reported  that  picnics,  heretofore  his  dread  and  bane, 
had  now  become  orderly.  And  several  farmers  spoke 
of  their  great  gratification  in  being  truly  and  effectu- 
ally protected  from  trespass  in  the  hunting  season. 
This  matter  had  in  all  time  past  constituted  a  serious 
grievance,  being  a  source  not  only  of  annoyance  but  of 
loss.  To  their  joy  and  surprise,  the  whole  trouble  had 
ceased  entirely  with  the  establishment  of  the  Police 
patrol. 

Up  in  the  Pocono  Hills,  a  peculiarly  vicious  tribe  of 


Who  Stands  for  the  Law?  65 

poachers  had  for  long  been  operating.  They  dyna- 
mited the  trout  streams,  they  shot  off  the  song-birds, 
they  assaulted  the  game  wardens  who  attempted  inter- 
ference, they  started  innumerable  forest  fires,  and  they 
threatened  the  lives  and  property  of  those  who  in- 
formed upon  them.  A  detail  of  State  Police  was  now 
asked  for  and  sent;  the  troopers,  patrolling,  shortly 
collected  the  necessary  proof  and  made  their  arrests, 
which  were  promptly  followed  by  convictions.  All 
disorder  forthwith  died  away.  This  service  was  the 
more  inclusively  appreciated  by  the  good  people  of 
the  region  because  the  license  previously  enjoyed  by  the 
poachers  had  gradually  encouraged  them  to  more  varied 
depredations,  had  attracted  others  of  criminal  stripe, 
and  had  induced  a  general  and  well-grounded  feeling 
of  insecurity  and  alarm. 

Wherever  fish  and  game  poachers  operated,  it  now 
became  the  custom  to  call  in  the  services  of  the  State 
Police  and  in  support  of  the  regular  wardens  they  were 
presently  most  effectively  working  over  many  fields. 

To  "B"  Troop  fell  the  duty  of  inaugurating  another 
service  which  was  soon  to  become  general  throughout 
the  State.  "B"  Troop's  captain  had  been  requested 
to  send  a  detail  to  preserve  order  at  a  county  fair. 
Now,  order  at  a  county  fair  had  hitherto  been  a  thing 
of  shreds  and  tatters.  Pickpockets,  thimbleriggers, 
gamblers  of  every  kind,  had  flocked  to  the  holiday 
crowds,  in  the  certainty  of  reaping  harvests.  Drunk- 
enness had  added  to  their  opportunities  and  to  the 
general  risk.  Brawls,  accidents,  losses,  had  run  their 
sorry  course,  and  thus  the  days  so  long  awaited  and  so 
eagerly  sought  by  all  the  country  folk  were  tarnished 
and  spoiled.  This  year,  however,  the  Luzerne  authori- 
ties had  the  inspiration  to  try  what  a  squad  of  State 

5 


66  Justice  to  All 

Police  would  effect.  Nine  arrests,  for  running  gam- 
bling devices  and  for  illicit  liquor-selling,  promptly  made 
under  the  astonished  eyes  of  the  inactive  borough  po- 
lice, warned  the  crooks  that  a  new  day  had  dawned, 
and  impelled  an  exodus  among  that  discomfited  crew. 
In  the  other  end  of  the  State,  "A"  and  "D"  Troops 
quickly  followed  "B"  Troop's  excellent  example,  until 
even  the  unfriendly  Reading  Herald  is  again  surprised 
into  a  word  of  hope: 

The  news  seems  rather  too  good  to  be  true.  The  fair 
directors  have,  at  times  .  .  .  seemed  to  encourage  the 
thimblerigger  incursions.  They  made  things  lively.  They 
drew  a  crowd.  They  varied  the  monotony  of  the  big  pump- 
kins and  the  dazzling  sofa  cushions.  The  men  who  got  thim- 
blerigged  didn't  like  to  own  up  to  it  and  wouldn't  press  their 
suits.  The  city's  police  force  seemed  afraid  to  cope  with 
these  super-clever  gamblers.  And  beyond  a  courteous 
warning  that  if  they  ever  came  this  way  again  they  might 
have  their  privileges  taken  from  them,  these  scalawags 
have  been  allowed  to  go  on  their  way  unsuppressed. 

They  coin  fistfuls  of  dollars  through  the  fair  week.  Upon 
the  last  day  thereof  the  community  gets  fierce  and  tells 
them  to  go.  They  do  so  gladly.  It  was  what  they  were 
going  to  do  at  any  rate.  They  hasten  to  the  next  town 
whose  fair  is  just  about  to  open.  And  they  go  around  agilely 
and  profitably  just  as  long  as  the  fair  season  lasts. 

But  out  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  Penny  packer's 
Cossacks  have  been  routing  them.  ...  Is  it  possible 
that  the  gamblers  who  flourished  so  profusely  every  new 
fair  week  are  to  be  scared  off  this  time?  If  so,  almost 
would  we  be  persuaded  that  the  State  constables  are  worthy 
of  their  pay  and  more,  though  fair  week  comes  but  once  in 
the  fifty-two. 

"Pennypacker's  Cossacks"  meantime  embarked 
upon  still  another  industry  in  the  western  part  of  the 


Who  Stands  for  the  Law?  67 

State — that  of  exterminating  horse-thieving.  "A" 
Troop  opened  its  crusade  by  the  pursuit  of  a  rascal 
picturesquely  posted  as  "a  saddle-colored  negro  driving 
a  flea-bitten  gray  hitched  to  a  rig  with  red  running 
gears."  It  was  a  midnight  chase,  however,  and  the 
handicap  of  a  dense  fog  equalized  the  game  for  the 
kaleidoscopic  quarry.  Thence  the  Troop  triumphantly 
proceeded  to  other  trails,  gradually  putting  a  quietus 
upon  a  hitherto  flourishing  business  and  arousing  local 
comment  such  as  the  following  from  the  Greensburg 
Press  of  August  22d: 

The  work  of  Troop  "A"  last  night  in  turning  out  at  a 
moment's  notice  to  scour  the  country  for  horse-thieves  is 
an  object-lesson  in  the  utility  of  the  State  Constabulary. 
...  It  is  significant  that  many  of  the  borough  constables, 
who  must  have  financial  guidance  to  get  busy  on  any  case 
that  requires  hard  work  or  exposure,  are  the  men  who  raise 
their  voices,  when  not  too  tired,  against  the  State  troopers. 
No  further  legislation  is  needed  to  "define"  the  duties 
of  the  Constabulary.  Their  duty  is  to  "get  busy"  when 
hard,  fearless  work  is  required  and  this  they  are  always 
ready  and  willing  to  do. 

That  whatever  jealousy  was  evinced  by  borough 
constables  had  no  foundation  in  any  justified  fear  for 
their  own  pockets  was  shown  in  a  contemporary  editorial 
of  the  Punxsutawney  Spirit: 

It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  State  Policemen  to  interfere 
with  local  constables  in  the  performance  of  their  duties  so 
as  to  preclude  the  collection  of  legitimate  fees  by  the  local 
officials,  but  to  aid  them  in  every  way  possible  and  co- 
operate in  ridding  the  community  of  an  undesirable  criminal 
class.  Already  a  number  of  arrests  have  been  made  in 
conjunction  with  local  constables  and  the  fees  have  invari- 


68  Justice  to  All 

ably  been  paid  to  the  township  officials.  Fees  paid  in 
connection  with  arrests  made  by  State  Policemen  do  not 
benefit  the  troopers  in  any  way  whatever. 

Continuing  the  consideration  of  "A"  Troop's  work, 
it  becomes  immediately  clear  that  the  farmers  were 
by  no  means  its  only  beneficiaries.  It  was  in  August 
that  the  mine-workers'  settlement  near  Youngstown 
fell  victim  to  a  terror  that  walked  at  noonday.  A 
maniac,  emerging  from  some  unknown  lair,  began  a 
series  of  predatory  attacks  upon  the  miners'  homes, 
robbing  and  frightening  the  women  and  waylaying  the 
children  on  the  roads.  The  thing  went  on  for  ten  days. 
Local  authorities  effected  nothing,  and  panic  at  last 
reached  such  a  pitch  that  the  miners  flatly  refused  to 
leave  their  families  until  the  danger  should  have  been 
met.  With  his  mines  thus  on  the  point  of  shutting 
down,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Coal 
and  Coke  Company  appealed  to  the  Captain  of  "A" 
Troop  for  aid.  This  appeal  chanced  to  reach  the 
barracks  in  the  overture  of  a  terrific  and  prolonged 
thunderstorm,  late  in  the  afternoon. 

Sergeant  Lynn  G.  Adams,  heading  a  detail  of  five 
troopers,  set  out  on  the  instant  in  pursuit  of  the  scourge. 
To  track  the  madman  and  to  run  him  to  earth  in  a 
dense  wood,  to  throw  out  a  skirmish  line  and  round  him 
in,  to  corner  him  in  a  thicket  and  handcuff  him,  despite 
a  ferocious  resistance,  and  to  bring  him  into  the  office 
of  a  justice  of  the  peace  after  an  inclusive  ride  of  twenty 
miles,  took  Sergeant  Adams  and  his  little  squad  just 
three  hours.  That  night  the  miners  and  their  families 
once  more  slept  with  both  eyes  shut. 

Again,  on  September  8th,  acting  upon  a  district 
attorney's  request,  an  "A"  Troop  detail  comprising 


Who  Stands  for  the  Law?  69 

Sergeant  McCall  and  fourteen  privates  was  sent  to 
Wireton,  a  suburb  of  the  town  of  Monessen  in  West- 
moreland County,  to  operate  against  a  band  of  negroes 
who  had  been  the  bane  of  the  hamlet  for  a  considerable 
period. 

Farmers  and  steel-plant  workers  alike  lived  in  dread 
of  these  miscreants.  Robberies,  holdups,  and  shootings 
had  been  a  matter  of  course,  without,  however,  arous- 
ing the  activities  of  the  local  police.  Five  murders 
had  been  committed,  followed  by  no  arrest.  The 
seven  houses  in  which  the  negroes  lived  were  brothels, 
illicit  liquor  dives,  and  gambling  dens,  and  they  reeked 
in  their  trades  undisturbed.  They  were  frequented 
by  low  whites  as  well  as  by  negroes.  A  curse  to  the 
place,  they  emitted  a  special  menace  to  the  women  and 
children  of  the  neighboring  steel-plant  workers,  left 
shivering  alone  in  their  homes  during  laboring  hours. 

The  descent  of  the  State  Police  upon  these  seven 
houses  resulted  in  the  arrest  of  ten  colored  women  and 
of  twenty  men,  four  of  whom  were  whites,  the  seizure 
of  three  wagon  loads  of  beer,  and  the  confiscation  of  a 
wicked  lot  of  weapons.  A  community  in  which  no  one 
for  many  months  had  dared  to  go  abroad  after  dark 
unarmed,  and  in  which  the  laborer  homeward  bound  on 
pay-night  fared  rarely  well  if  he  kept  his  envelope  till 
he  reached  his  door,  was  restored  to  peace. 

Owing  to  the  brutal  character  of  the  criminals,  this 
raid  had  meant  dangerous  work,  as  had  long  been 
foreseen  by  the  local  police.  Those  speaking  for  the 
latter  now  cloaked  the  nakedness  of  their  deficiency 
with  the  excuse  everywhere  used  in  similar  cases.  The 
Wireton  pest-hole,  they  explained,  was  "outside  borough 
limits"  and  the  taxpayers  of  a  town  do  not  expect 
their  police  to  reach  over  borough  borders. 


70  Justice  to  All 

When,  however,  the  district  attorney  brought  in 
the  State  Police  to  do  the  work,  these  worthy  officials' 
souls  were  wroth  within  them,  and  to  the  obstructions 
which  they  placed  in  the  troopers'  path  was  generally 
laid,  among  other  charges,  the  serious  wounding  of 
Private  Hershey. 

Hershey  was  left  alone  to  guard  the  front  of  one  of 
the  dens,  while  the  majority  of  the  detail  convoyed 
prisoners  to  jail.  Here  they  were  persistently  delayed 
by  the  reluctance  of  the  borough  officer  to  receive 
their  prisoners.  He  wished  to  be  most  thoroughly 
informed  of  circumstances  and  charges  on  the  spot. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  day,  he  demanded  of  the 
troopers  a  dollar  a  head  for  each  prisoner,  before  con- 
senting to  lock  them  up.  And,  the  report  continues, 
once  having  locked  them  up,  he  afterward  accounted 
for  certain  empty  cells — cells  in  which  some  of  the 
worst  criminals  had  been  left — on  the  plea  that  "the 
locks  didn't  work"! 

While  all  this  was  worrying  out,  Private  Hershey, 
left  overlong  unsupported,  was  ambushed  by  two 
negroes  who  first  brought  him  down  with  a  shot  through 
his  leg,  and  then,  instantly  firing  again,  fractured  his 
arm.  Aiming  from  the  ground,  black  night  though 
it  was,  the  trooper  wounded  one  of  his  assailants  twice, 
making  meantime  such  a  clear-brained  observation 
that  he  was  able  definitely  to  identify  the  man  when 
the  Force  brought  him  back  from  Ohio,  months  later. 

Private  Hershey  had  been  trained  in  a  school  where 
wounds  and  broken  bones  are  supposed  to  deflect  neither 
a  man's  wits  nor  his  trigger  finger.  In  the  Ninth 
U.  S.  Infantry  and  in  the  Marine  Corps,  he  had  served 
seven  years  in  the  Philippines,  in  China,  in  Japan,  and  in 
Panama. 


Who  Stands  for  the  Law?  71 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  the  record  still  rolled 
up  of  the  scattering  of  vampires  who  had  lived  by  prey- 
ing upon  miners  homeward  bound  on  pay-nights,  or  upon 
farmers  returning  from  the  store;  the  record  of  county 
officers  assisted,  of  thieving  stopped,  of  peace  estab- 
lished, of  country  women  delivered  out  of  the  fear  of 
the  fate  that  is  worse  than  death.  And  with  the  growing 
record  grew  the  number  of  the  friends  of  the  Force. 

Now  this,  it  happened,  was  the  period  when  the 
currents  of  popular  thought  gain  peculiar  significance. 
The  State  elections  were  coming  on  and  it  behooved 
the  leaders  to  incline  their  ears  to  the  ground.  In  the 
Democratic  State  Convention,  on  June  27th,  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions  had  proposed  a  plank  con- 
demning the  State  Police  and  demanding  the  repeal 
of  the  creative  act.  Mr.  James  Kerr,  delegate  from 
the  mining  county  of  Clearfield,  uttered  a  grave  re- 
monstrance against  the  step. 

"This  is  a  dangerous  plank  to  adopt,"  pleaded  Mr. 
Kerr.  "The  law  has  not  been  tried  and  we  should  at 
least  strike  out  the  words  'We  demand  the  repeal  of 
the  law.'  We  are  a  party  of  peace  and  good  order, 
and  I  prefer  to  strike  out  the  whole  plank,  but  if  it  is 
necessary  for  the  party  to  mention  the  subject  then 
strike  out  the  reference  to  repeal." 

But  the  warning  was  Cassandra's  voice.  Mr.  Kerr's 
motion  to  eliminate  the  recommendation  was  lost,  and 
a  modified  plank,  still  hostile  in  purport,  was  tied  like 
a  plank  of  lead  around  the  party's  neck,  by  a  vote  of 
twenty-eight  to  eighteen.  The  labor  vote  was  thought 
to  be  purchasable  by  these  means,  and  at  such  a  crisis 
what  are  right  and  rights  that  they  should  impede 
the  Ship  of  State! 

The  scruples  that,  however  slightly,  hampered  the 


72  Justice  to  All 

State  Committee  weighed  on  some  of  the  blithe  little 
county  conventions  not  at  all,  but  it  remained  for  that 
of  Adams  County  to  toss  its  bonnet  entirely  over  the 
moon  and  go  the  whole  figure.  The  Adams  County 
Democratic  Convention  condemned  the  Republican 
Administration,  State  and  National,  condemned  the 
State  Police,  and,  in  an  ebullition  of  gayety  all  the 
cheerier  from  the  fact  that  this  was  not  a  Presidential 
year,  endorsed  William  Jennings  Bryan  for  President. 
From  now  until  after  the  election,  opposition  to  the 
State  Police  became  a  Democratic  cockade.  The  mush- 
room press  joined  the  little  Socialistic  organs  in  a 
delirium  of  gory  inventions,  and  a  few  even  of  the  ordi- 
narily respectable  county  papers  indulged  in  fearsome 
grimaces  which  they  dropped  like  New  Year's  masks 
the  moment  the  returns  were  in.  All  these,  of  course, 
were  merely  conventional  phenomena  of  campaigning. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SWORD  AND  SCALES 

MEANTIME,  history  continued  making,  and  living 
conditions  continued  working  out  the  moral  of  the  day. 
Hughestown  is  a  miners'  settlement,  near  Pittston, 
Luzerne  County.  Hughestown  possessed  its  share  of 
decent,  orderly,  English-speaking  miner  folk,  and  it 
also  possessed  a  gang  of  Italian  banditti  more  brazen 
and  bloody  here  than  they  had  dreamed  of  being  in 
their  own  Sicilian  hills.  These  outlaws  had  not  jumped 
from  the  immigrant  trains  full-fledged  in  boldness, 
but,  step  by  step,  had  worked  themselves  up,  through 
experiment  in  immunity,  to  the  impudence  that  they 
now  enjoyed.  Fully  aware  of  their  freedom  with 
knife  and  gun,  of  their  daily  shootings,  stabbings,  and 
robberies,  the  community  had  been  content  at  first 
to  say: 

"  Small  harm,  for  they  only  kill  each  other." 

And  when,  as  was  bound  to  happen,  the  bandits, 
tiring  of  limited  game,  began  to  reach  afield,  each 
citizen  yet  unmolested  still  gave  thanks  that  he  himself 
had  not  been  the  one  to  suffer,  half  deploring,  half 
enjoying  his  neighbors*  "bad  luck."  Such  is  the 
invariable  conduct  of  the  Atlantic  watershed  and  of 
hens.  And  it  brings  to  the  Atlantic  watershed  the 
hens'  sharp-edged  reward. 

Hughestown,  however,  possessed  a  borough  police- 
man bearing  the  orderly  narhe  of  Schmaltz — Jacob 

73 


74  Justice  to  All 

Schmaltz.  Perhaps  Officer  Schmaltz's  forebears  were 
of  the  sound  old  " Pennsylvania  Dutch,"  perhaps  not. 
But  whoever  they  were,  they  had  transmitted  to  their 
scion  a  conception  of  duty.  When  in  the  late  winter 
of  1906,  a  contagious  disease  broke  out  in  certain 
Italian  tenements,  Schmaltz,  then  borough  burgess, 
ordered  the  houses  posted.  The  tenants  promptly 
tore  the  signs  down.  Schmaltz  as  promptly  had 
the  tenants  arrested  and  fined;  and  from  that 
moment  Schmaltz  himself  became  accursed  of  the 
banditti. 

These,  during  the  spring  and  summer,  freely  em- 
broidered upon  their  original  design.  They  systemati- 
cally insulted  the  Hughestown  women,  whenever  they 
dared  to  walk  abroad,  they  nightly  robbed  the  Hughes- 
town  men  on  their  own  highway,  and  they  threatened 
the  lives  of  the  officials  with  threats  that  all  knew  were 
no  idle  boasts.  Finally  came  an  August  evening  when 
four  young  girls,  walking  in  the  town  street,  were  seized 
and  held  by  some  of  the  gang.  One,  wrenching  herself 
free,  ran  screaming  down  the  road  and  into  the  arms  of 
Officer  Schmaltz.  Schmaltz,  at  her  appeal,  hurried 
to  the  rescue  but  must  have  been  unable  to  identify 
and  arrest  save  for  the  timely  help  of  a  plucky  young 
Irish  lad,  Thomas  Loftus,  who  had  seen  the  affair  and 
who  now  came  to  his  aid.  So  the  gang  wrote  down 
another  name — Thomas  Loftus. 

A  week  later,  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  while  Thomas 
and  Michael,  his  father,  were  still  away  at  their  work, 
Mrs.  Loftus  answered  a  knock  at  her  cottage  door. 
On  the  threshold  stood  an  Italian,  who  coolly  informed 
her  that  her  son  would  never  again  reach  home  alive, 
as  he  and  his  friends  intended  killing  the  boy  that  night; 
thereafter,  he  added,  they  would  deal  at  their  pleasure 


Sword  and  Scales  75 

with  the  rest  of  the  family.  As  this  messenger  retired, 
the  house  was  attacked  with  a  prolonged  bombardment 
of  stones.  Half  mad  with  fear,  the  poor  woman 
cowered  under  cover  until  dark.  Then,  gathering  her 
daughters  around  her,  she  fled  into  the  thick  of  the 
town.  All  the  way,  they  reported,  they  saw  from  the 
tail  of  their  eyes  shadowy  forms  skulking  along  the  road, 
half  hidden  behind  a  high  surface  steam  pipe,  behind 
bushes,  behind  the  timbers  of  the  bridge.  Of  the  first 
man  that  the  trembling  women  met,  they  begged  that 
a  call  be  sent  to  the  State  Police. 

A  message  accordingly  was  telephoned  to  "B" 
Troop  barracks,  whence  a  detail  of  three,  Privates 
Garland,  Adelson,  and  Butler,  was  instantly  despatched 
in  response. 

Reaching  Hughestown,  the  little  detail  proceeded 
at  once  to  the  Loftus  house,  to  find  it  surrounded  by  a 
raging  swarm  of  Italians.  This  mob  the  officers  imme- 
diately dispersed,  but  as  they  herded  it  away  into  the 
dark,  a  revolver  shot  rang  out  from  the  roadside.  As 
the  troopers  turned  with  drawn  clubs  in  the  direction 
of  the  flash,  shots  poured  in  from  every  quarter,  while 
fifty  Italians,  rushing  in  from  their  concealments, 
opened  a  blaze  of  fire  upon  the  three  police. 

The  latter,  still  wielding  their  clubs,  fought  the  crowd 
with  those  alone,  until  Trooper  Garland  dropped  with 
a  bullet  in  his  lungs.  Then  Adelson  and  Butler  drew 
their  guns,  but  in  another  instant  Adelson,  too,  fell, 
shot  through  the  body.  At  this  Butler  abandoned  the 
defensive  and,  single-handed  as  he  was,  rushed  into 
the  gang,  which  broke  and  fled  into  the  Italian  quarter, 
leaving,  however,  one  man  struggling  wildly  in  the 
trooper's  grip. 

Private   Butler   then  telephoned  barracks,  whence 


76  Justice  to  All 

Sergeant  C.  M.  Wilhelm  and  ten  troopers  hurried  to  his 
aid.  The  whole  Hughestown  street  was  now  crowded 
with  a  rioting  mob  of  foreigners,  who  must  be  quieted 
and  dispersed  before  anything  farther  could  be  done. 
That  duly  accomplished,  the  detail  closed  up  on  the 
houses  into  which  Private  Butler  knew  that  the  men 
who  had  shot  Troopers  Garland  and  Adelson  had 
fled,  and  began  a  systematic  search.  A  fascinated, 
fear-stricken  crowd  of  townspeople  gathered  to  watch, 
pressing  so  close  that  troopers  had  to  be  spared  to 
shepherd  them  back  out  of  harm's  way. 

Then  ensued  a  miniature  siege.  The  Italians  refused 
to  open  the  doors — barricaded  them.  Following  Ser- 
geant Wilhelm  the  troopers  burst  them  in.  Brushing 
aside  the  terrors  that  had  paralyzed  the  town  for  a 
year,  they  ransacked  house  after  house,  pulling  men 
out  from  under  beds,  unearthing  them  from  cellars, 
dragging  them  from  garrets,  until  they  had  captured 
most  of  the  gang.  Those  that  were  wounded — and 
some  were  badly  hurt — they  carried  to  hospital.  Those 
that  were  whole  they  escorted  to  jail,  whence  the 
decent  populace  gladly  saw  them  depart  to  the  punish- 
ment that  they  had  so  ably  earned. 

Poor  Mrs.  Loftus  was  terribly  unstrung  by  the 
horrors  of  the  night,  and  beside  herself  with  gratitude  to 
the  troopers,  who,  as  she  but  too  well  knew,  had  given 
her  the  life  of  her  husband  and  boy.  Unable  to  realize 
that  all  danger  was  past,  she  still  threw  herself  on  the 
pity  of  her  deliverers  and  begged  them  not  yet  to  leave 
her  and  hers  alone.  Sergeant  Wilhelm  calmed  her 
with  the  assurance  of  full  protection  for  her  cottage 
that  night,  setting  a  guard  also  over  the  Italian  quarter. 
Here  it  was  maintained  until  peace  was  at  last  assured 
to  the  long-troubled  town. 


Sword  and  Scales  77 

Said  the  Pittston  Gazette,  the  day  after  the  little 
battle: 

There  has  been  noticeable  on  the  street  since  last  evening 
a  most  remarkable  change  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  State 
Troopers.  Since  the  recent  strike  trouble,  there  has  been 
considerable  prejudice  against  the  troopers,  but  last  night 
no  one  could  be  found  who  did  not  have  a  word  of  praise 
for  them.  It  was  the  most  serious  local  action  the  Troop 
has  yet  encountered  and  they  bore  themselves  in  such  sol- 
dierly fashion  as  to  deserve  praise  on  all  sides.  ...  It 
will  be  surprising  if  there  is  not  a  great  falling  off  in  the 
demand  for  the  repeal  of  the  Constabulary  act  by  the 
next  Legislature. 

But  in  view  of  the  now  revealed  character  of  the 
enmity  to  the  Force,  no  room  remained  for  real  sur- 
prise from  this  quarter.  The  Johnstown  Democrat, 
a  representative  organ  of  a  sort  whose  general  creed 
and  quality  only  the  most  simple  could  seriously  lay 
upon  the  shoulders  of  any  decent  political  party,  now 
hastened  to  say  that  the  occasion  of  the  Hughestown 
affair  had  been  merely  a  little  innocent  horseplay. 
"It  was  a  holiday,  and  the  Italians  were  celebrating 
in  their  peculiar  noisy  and  demonstrative  way."  "  Pen- 
nypacker's  Cossacks,"  rushing  in,  had  turned  a  harmless 
merrymaking  into  a  scene  of  blood.  Concluding  this 
ingenuous  statement,  the  Democrat  asks  if  Pennsyl- 
vania is  really  "  prepared  to  turn  over  the  civil  author- 
ity to  a  band  of  mercenaries,"  the  creation  of  "the 
Coal  Trust  and  the  Railroad  combine,"  "to  a  central 
figure  who  has  at  his  command  roving  bodies  of  armed 
men  who  will  act  under  his  orders"? 

Let  it  be  marked,  however,  that  not  only  Thomas 
Loftus,  but  all  his  male  relatives  beside,  were  members 


78  Justice  to  All 

of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America,  of  which  Mr. 
John  Mitchell  was  president. 

The  tragedy  at  New  Florence,  near  Punxsutawney, 
which  occurred  on  the  2d  of  September  of  this  year, 
will  be  narrated  in  another  place.  But  its  hour  cannot 
be  passed  without  mention,  nor  can  mention  be  made 
without  respectful  tribute  to  the  heroic  conduct  on 
that  occasion  of  Trooper  Homer  D.  Chambers,  than 
whose  no  greater  gallantry  was  ever  marked  by  the 
Victoria  Cross. 

At  this  period  became  noticeable  a  general  expansion 
of  the  public  concept  of  the  Force's  field  of  usefulness. 
The  Police  Department  of  Harrisburg,  at  the  dedication 
of  the  new  Capitol,  asked  for  a  troop  of  State  Police 
to  keep  order  in  that  little  city,  while  the  whole  com- 
mand was  invited  for  a  visit,  to  do  honor  to  the  city's 
guest-in-chief,  President  Roosevelt.  Then  the  city  of 
Reading  awakened  to  the  cooperative  value  of  an 
efficient  State  Force  encircling  her  borders.  Having 
seen  the  great  success  of  the  State  Police  patrol  in 
ridding  the  surrounding  farming  districts  of  tramps  and 
marauders,  she  now  bethought  herself  to  ask  for  help 
in  her  own  need.  One  of  the  great  ornaments  of  the 
town  was  her  approach,  the  "Reading  Boulevard," 
which  wound  through  some  of  the  loveliest  wooded 
country  in  Berks.  But  the  charm  of  the  road  was  of 
late  being  rapidly  marred  by  Goths  and  timber  thieves, 
who  injured  or  felled  the  beautiful  trees  along  the  route. 
Powerless  themselves  to  stop  the  destruction,  county 
and  town  officials  applied  for  aid  to  the  Department 
of  State  Police,  which  promptly  responded  by  includ- 
ing the  Reading  Boulevard  in  its  patrol,  a  step  whose 
result  was  the  immediate  end  of  the  difficulty. 

It  was  in  this  autumn,  too,  that  "A"  Troop  an- 


Sword  and  Scales  79 

swered  a  call  marking  the  beginning  of  another  new 
branch  of  work,  since  an  established  feature  of  the 
Force's  activities.  Rabies  had  broken  out,  in  parts  of 
Westmoreland  and  Fayette  counties.  The  first  cases 
were  neglected.  The  disease  spread  fast.  The  town- 
ship authorities  met  little  or  no  success  in  their  efforts 
to  enforce  the  anti-rabies  law.  So  serious  did  the 
situation  grow  that  the  State  Veterinarian  himself 
was  obliged  to  come  to  the  scene;  and  he,  understand- 
ing the  need  of  instant  and  efficient  handling,  called 
for  help  upon  the  State  Police.  A  patrol  was  accord- 
ingly established  in  the  infected  and  endangered  dis- 
trict, which  enforced  the  law  to  the  letter.  Said  the 
Connellsville  Courier,  a  local  paper: 

The  only  method  of  enforcing  the  law  in  guarding  people 
and  animals  from  attack  of  the  dreadful  disease  is  to  have 
the  State  Police  patrol.  .  .  .  The  State  pays  for  sheep 
killed  by  dogs  and  we  believe  that  the  citizen  has  as  much 
right  to  protection  from  dogs  as  have  the  sheep. 

Somewhat  later  on,  the  intelligent  English-speaking 
miner  folk  around  Punxsutawney  knew  themselves 
indebted  to  the  Force  for  an  even  greater  rescue. 
Smallpox  broke  out  among  the  foreigners  in  the  little 
mining  village  of  Rossiter,  close  by.  When  the  health 
officers  undertook  to  quarantine  the  pest-stricken 
houses,  not  only  did  they  meet  resistance  from  the 
inmates  but  they  also  encountered  the  enraged  hos- 
tility of  the  entire  neighborhood.  At  their  wits'  end 
they  tried  the  State  Police.  A  strong  detail  was 
immediately  sent  to  the  spot,  where  it  maintained  a 
vigorous  quarantine  for  ten  days.  Without  this 
service,  beyond  the  slightest  doubt  the  disease  must 
have  swept  through  the  countryside. 


8o  Justice  to  All 

It  may  have  been  the  accumulation  of  such  incidents 
as  these,  and  of  incidents  like  those  of  the  Eleanor 
affair,  that  influenced  the  western  labor  vote  in  Novem- 
ber. 

The  Eleanor  affair  may  be  briefly  summarized.  Elea- 
nor is  a  small  mining  town  in  Jefferson  County.  At 
the  moment  in  question  a  detail  of  fifteen  State  Police, 
under  First  Sergeant  George  F.  Lumb,  had  been  sent 
to  the  place  on  the  entreaty  of  the  sheriff.  The  sheriff's 
statement  ran  that  about  two  thousand  men,  for  some 
time  on  strike,  had  now  started  in  to  riot  and  to  destroy 
property.  They  were  wild,  he  said,  beyond  the  control 
of  himself  and  his  forty  deputies. 

As  the  detail  approached  Eleanor  it  was  met  by 
men  alleging  themselves  to  be  strikers'  envoys. 

"Turn  back  while  you  can,"  warned  the  messengers. 
"We'll  give  you  all  you  are  looking  for  if  you  dare 
to  ride  into  town." 

Assuring  the  envoys  that  they  were  looking  for 
nothing  but  peace  and  order,  which,  moreover,  they 
had  come  to  enforce,  and  that  they  were  the  friends 
of  all  friendly  thereto,  the  detail  rode  on. 

In  the  village  inn,  waitresses  and  cooks,  persuaded 
by  the  strikers,  refused  to  serve  the  new  guests. 

"Very  well,"  quietly  remarked  the  sergeant  to  the 
innkeeper.  ' '  If  you  will  give  me  access  to  your  kitchen, 
I  will  detail  a  couple  of  men  to  cook  until  other  arrange- 
ments can  be  made." 

The  innkeeper  acceded.  But  no  sooner  did  the  girls 
see  their  kitchen  thus  occupied  than  they  decided  to 
come  back  and  do  the  cooking  themselves. 

The  mine  superintendent,  it  now  appeared,  enter- 
tained as  mistaken  a  conception  of  the  purposes  of  the 
State  Police  as  had  the  men  on  strike,  for  this  official 


Sword  and  Scales  81 

confidently  brought  to  Sergeant  Lumb  a  request  doomed 
to  an  unexpected  fate.  It  was,  that  the  State  Police 
bar  the  strikers  from  access  to  a  certain  well  on  the 
company's  land.  Now,  the  well,  as  it  happened, 
afforded  the  only  good  drinking  water  in  the  place. 
Access  to  it  was  therefore  a  necessity  of  life  and  had 
been  considered  as  such  up  to  the  time  of  the 
present  strife.  Sergeant  Lumb  therefore  refused  to 
act. 

"But  the  spring  is  on  the  company's  land,"  thun- 
dered the  superintendent,  as  amazed  as  wroth.  "These 
people  are  trespassing.  I  summon  you  to  do  your 
duty." 

"This  spring  is  the  only  drinking  water  within  reach. 
The  United  States  Mail  is  carried  over  the  road  that 
passes  it.  It  is  a  highway.  And  although  the  spring 
is  on  your  property  the  people  shall  not  be  barred  from 
its  use." 

"Then  I  shall  guard  it  with  deputy  sheriffs." 

"And  if  an  attempt  is  made  to  close  that  road  and 
thereby  deprive  the  people  of  their  drinking  water 
I  shall  interfere,"  concluded  the  imperturbable  sergeant 
in  a  gentle,  polite,  little  voice,  that  somehow  sounded 
as  inviting  as  a  battery  of  fourteen-inch  guns. 

The  corporation  at  this  time  had  assembled  some 
two  hundred  deputy  sheriffs  on  the  premises.  Now, 
the  deputy  sheriff,  in  such  cases,  is  commonly  a  recruit 
from  the  ranks  of  the  idle,  a  man  ignorant  of  the  law, 
of  the  rights  of  citizens,  of  his  own  duties,  irresponsible 
and  uncontrolled. 

When,  therefore,  a  sound  of  steady  shooting  arose 
one  night  from  the  deputy  sheriffs'  camp,  Sergeant 
Lumb,  investigating,  was  not  surprised  to  find  those 
worthies  amusing  themselves  by  firing  at  the  miners' 

6 


82  Justice  to  All 

village  across  the  valley,  "for  the  fun  of  seeing  the 
lights  go  out." 

The  next  morning  the  sergeant  took  six  deputy 
sheriffs  to  the  sheriff  himself,  saying: 

"These  men  of  yours  are  guilty  of  reckless  shooting. 
I  do  not  want  to  discredit  you  publicly,  so  I  will  give 
you  three  hours  to  get  them  out  of  town." 

And  the  sheriff  was  glad  to  act  in  accordance. 

Later,  the  mine  superintendent  tried  again.  He  had 
already  notified  strikers  occupying  the  company's 
houses  that  tenants  on  strike  at  a  certain  imminent 
date  would  forthwith  be  evicted.  The  day  came,  the 
men  still  remained  out,  and  the  superintendent  advised 
the  sheriff  to  call  upon  Sergeant  Lumb  to  assist  in 
vacating  the  dwellings. 

Now  the  sergeant  had  already  received  explicit  orders 
from  Captain  Groome  that  his  detail  was  to  take  no 
part  in  civil  processes,  such  as  the  serving  of  landlord 
and  tenant  writs,  and  that  it  was  to  keep  entirely  away 
from  the  company's  property  unless  on  evidence  of 
actual  violence  that  must  be  suppressed. 

The  sergeant  therefore  not  only  refused  the  sheriff's 
request,  but  withdrew  his  patrols  to  a  wide  distance 
while  the  evictions  were  going  on. 

This  made  more  than  the  miners  could  resist.  No 
matter  what  their  agitators  had  told  them,  here  was 
the  accumulated  evidence  of  their  own  eyes.  The 
younger  strikers  jumped  down  off  the  fence,  knocked 
the  ashes  out  of  their  pipes,  walked  over,  and  invited 
the  troopers  to  play  ball.  The  troopers  could  play 
nothing  with  anybody.  They  were  at  work.  But 
the  thing  pleased  them  to  the  core.  They  welcomed 
gladly  the  sign  that  the  Eleanor  miners,  at  least,  under- 
stood that  the  duty,  the  purpose,  the  desire  of  the  State 


Sword  and  Scales  83 

Police  was  to  safeguard  the  interests  and  rights  of 
everyone  alike,  of  those  on  strike  not  one  iota  less  than 
of  those  against  whom  they  were  striking. 

In  view  of  such  matters  as  these,  it  is  not  strange 
that  despite  the  platform  and  efforts  of  the  State 
Federation  of  Labor,  and  despite  the  violent  endeavors 
of  its  leaders  to  close  the  new  Legislature  to  all  save 
men  who  should  go  to  Harrisburg  sworn  to  kill  the  State 
Police,  the  great  central  and  western  coal  field  counties 
failed  to  respond  at  the  polls. 

Although  an  essentially  non-political  organization, 
the  State  Police  was  the  conspicuous  delight  of  the 
Republican  Governor  who  created  it,  and  so  deter- 
minedly had  the  Democrats  thrust  forward  war  upon 
the  " Cossacks"  as  a  campaign  cry,  that  a  vote  for 
the  Republican  ticket  now  bore  strong  and  recognized 
color  of  a  vote  for  the  Force.  Well  had  James  Kerr 
of  Clear-field  warned  his  party  convention  of  the  slippery 
nature  of  that  labor- wooing  plank!  Nowhere  during 
the  year  had  the  State  Police  been  more  active  on  riot 
duty  than  in  the  great  soft-coal  counties  of  Cambria, 
Somerset,  Indiana,  and  Jefferson,  yet  these  counties, 
with  their  enormous  miner  vote,  rolled  up  an  excessive 
Republican  ballot.  In  the  wide  territory  of  United 
Mine  Workers  Number  2,  the  district  whose  conven- 
tion had  been  first  to  formulate  the  Organized  Labor 
leaders'  fight  against  the  Force,  Clearfield  County 
alone  failed  to  support  the  Republican  ticket.  The 
State  election,  a  sweeping  administration  victory,  was 
generally  interpreted  to  carry  with  it  a  popular  endorse- 
ment of  the  State  Police. 

Captain  Groome,  with  the  closing  of  the  year,  pre- 
sented to  the  Governor  his  first  Annual  Departmental 
Report.  This  brief  and  pithy  document  stated,  in 


84  Justice  to  All 

part,  that  during  its  nine  months  of  field  service  the 
Force  had  patrolled  over  sixty-five  thousand  miles, 
in  twenty  counties,  had  made  eight  hundred  and  eight 
arrests  for  forty-five  different  sorts  of  crimes  and 
misdemeanor,  and  had  secured  five  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  convictions.  From  the  fines  imposed  with  these 
convictions,  the  counties  had  collected  $6066.61. 
Since  its  organization  a  total  of  two  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  men  had  been  enlisted  in  the  Force,  of 
which  number  two  had  been  killed  on  duty,  twenty-six 
had  resigned,  thirty-five  had  been  discharged,  and  seven 
had  deserted.  Ten  men  had  been  seriously  wounded, 
of  whom  two  at  the  date  of  the  report  had  not  yet  fully 
recovered.  The  horses  had  done  well.  They  had 
averaged  about  thirty  miles  a  day  under  saddle,  every 
second  day  throughout  open  weather,  and  all  of  them 
should  be  serviceable  for  some  years  to  come.  Arms, 
uniforms,  and  equipment  were  in  excellent  condition. 
And,  finally, — although  this  was  a  fact  that  the  captain 
did  not  utter, — such  a  stride  had  been  made  toward 
the  attainment  of  "the  finest  thing  in  the  world"  that 
the  goal  already  wore  a  welcoming  face. 

Those  pledged  to  attack  the  Force  in  the  Legislature 
proceeded,  however,  to  their  work.  Several  bills  were 
introduced  to  repeal  the  creative  act,  to  be  negatively 
reported  by  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  On 
March  4th,  however,  Representative  Garner,  of  Schuyl- 
kill  County,  called  up  a  resolution  to  place  one  of  the 
repealing  bills  on  the  calendar,  notwithstanding  the 
negative  recommendation  of  the  Committee  to  which 
it  had  been  referred.  This  action  induced  an  immediate 
debate  on  the  merits  of  the  State  Police. 

To  place  a  negative  bill  on  the  calendar  one  hundred 
and  four  votes  are  necessary  under  the  Rules  of  the 


COMRADES 


[  Sword  and  Scales  85 

House.  Roll  call  resulted  in  one  hundred  yeas  to 
seventy-five  nays.  The  motion  therefore  failed. 

In  view  of  this  vote  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that 
Governor  Stuart,  but  lately  succeeded  to  the  Executive 
chair,  was  already  recorded  as  having  said  that  he 
should  veto  any  bill  that  might  come  to  him  repealing 
the  creative  act  of  the  State  Police. 

The  New  York  Evening  Post,  always  on  the  watch, 
now  comments  editorially: 

The  defeat  of  the  attempts  to  do  away  with  the  Pennsyl- 
vania State  Constabulary  is  of  more  than  local  significance. 
Thus  ends  another  effort  of  organized  labor  to  weaken  the 
police  power  of  a  State.  The  National  Guard  has  been 
assailed  directly  and  indirectly  in  various  quarters;  the 
prompt  attack  on  the  new  State  Constabulary  is  clear 
testimony  to  its  effectiveness. 

The  Philadelphia  Telegraph's  conclusion  was: 

The  only  legislation  regarding  this  organization  which 
will  be  tolerated  by  public  sentiment  will  be  that  which 
increases  its  efficiency  by  increasing  its  numerical  strength. 

Said  the  Philadelphia  Press: 

Though  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Harrisburg 
defeated  the  motion  to  place  on  the  calendar  the  bill  abol- 
ishing the  State  Constabulary,  the  vote  in  favor  of  the 
motion  is  portentous.  That  law  is  one  of  the  best  passed 
in  recent  years  and  is  hostile  to  no  one  except  those  who 
want  to  be  free  to  riot.  To  abolish  the  State  Police  is  a 
bid  for  the  favor  of  law-breakers.  It  would  be  as  sensible 
as  to  vote  to  abolish  the  police  of  our  cities.  .  .  .  Who 
would  be  most  likely  to  advocate  the  abolishing  of  the 
city  police  force? 


86  Justice  to  All 

The  Philadelphia  Ledger,  after  expressing  its  opinion 
in  very  definite  phrases,  underscored  it  again  in  the 
language  of  signs.  In  a  large  cartoon,  it  depicted  a 
State  Police  officer  standing  at  attention,  serene  and 
firm,  guarding  the  pedestal  of  a  Statue  of  Law  and 
Order,  exposed  on  a  high  place.  Below,  two  rascally 
figures,  "Free  Riot"  and  "Anarchy,"  slink  away  from 
a  fruitless  assault  with  lowering  backward  glances 
and  brandished  fists.  "Never  Touched  Him!"  reads 
the  legend  beneath. 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  SERGEANT  OF  TROOP   "A" 

IN  the  spring  of  1907  a  new  feature  unfolded  in  the 
Force's  activities.  This  was  the  substation  work, 
designed  to  extend  the  effective  range  of  the  Force, 
and  to  achieve  greater  economy  of  time  in  striking 
the  track  of  the  criminal.  The  Superintendent's  plan 
was  always  to  leave  in  barracks  a  certain  reserve  of  men 
for  emergency  call,  and  to  distribute  the  remainder 
of  the  commands  in  small  details  over  the  general 
regions.  Each  detail  would  be  placed  in  a  centre  of 
particular  local  need,  would  receive  the  calls  of  that 
locality,  and  would  ride  its  patrols  from  that  centre. 
During  the  remainder  of  1907,  while  the  substation 
plan  was  on  trial,  some  forty  different  centres  were 
thus  served,  by  details  of  from  two  to  ten  men,  the 
details  remaining  on  a  given  station  from  one  week  to 
three  months,  according  to  conditions  and  to  the  amount 
of  work  required. 

Conservative  rural  communities  are  not  often  quick 
in  the  uptake  of  new  ideas,  and  the  farmers  and  others 
in  the  ranges  of  the  substations  did  not  at  onqe  call 
largely  on  the  novel  aid  at  hand.  But  the  details  were 
not  idle  on  that  account.  Their  regular  patrol  duty 
gave  abundant  work,  and  meantime  the  officers  re- 
maining in  charge  of  the  stations  to  receive  calls  and 
to  govern  the  movements  of  the  men  used  that  fleeting 
leisure  very  profitably  in  careful  study  of  the  field. 

87 


88  Justice  to  All 

It  was  in  this  way  that  a  Sergeant  of  "A"  Troop, 
late  First  Sergeant  I3th  Infantry,  U.  S.  Army,  newly 
in  charge  of  the  substation  at  Monessen,  Westmore- 
land County,  came  to  familiarize  himself  with  the 
details  of  a  tragedy  whose  pages  had  been  closed 
half  a  year  before.  The  story  was  of  a  poor  little 
bit  of  a  girl,  eight  years  old,  who  had  been  sent  out 
into  the  fields  to  bring  home  the  cow.  Afterward, 
when  they  had  found  her  dead  under  the  drifted  leaves, 
they  were  glad  she  had  died;  but  who  had  done  the 
horrible  thing  no  one  knew,  no  one  could  guess.  A 
private  detective  agency,  another,  and  another,  was 
put  upon  the  trail,  without  result.  No  clue  was  found. 
And  now,  after  many  months,  wrath  and  sorrow  were 
already  old  and  the  thought  of  punishment  aban- 
doned. 

The  Sergeant  applying  himself  with  all  the  force 
of  a  strong  and  assimilative  intelligence  to  the  study 
of  every  social  condition  of  the  place,  had  come  early 
upon  the  lament  of  this  child,  murdered  and  worse  than 
that,  left  alone  in  the  fields,  her  fate  crying  in  vain  to 
the  great  white  sky.  The  horror  of  it  held  him.  Again 
and  again  his  mind  came  back  to  it.  Again  and  again 
he  recurred  to  the  menace  and  the  shame  that  the 
monster  was  still  at  large  who  had  done  this  deed. 

He  got  the  reports  of  the  private  detectives,  checked 
them  up  step  by  step,  and  discerned  some  fabrications 
from  whole  cloth  narrating  in  detail  work  that  had 
never  been  done.  He  followed  the  memories  of  the 
child,  and  the  paths  that  her  little  feet  had  daily  trod- 
den on  her  way  to  school.  He  studied  the  roadside 
features  there,  the  buildings  by  the  way;  and  it  was  in 
so  doing  that  he  noticed  that  one  of  these  buildings 
had  been  finished  less  than  a  year — that  its  plastering, 


A  Sergeant  of  Troop  "A"  89 

in  fact,  had  been  completed  only  the  day  before  the 
crime  occurred. 

Then  he  set  himself  to  identify  each  workman  em- 
ployed on  that  job — each  man  that  must  have  seen  the 
little  maid  go  up  and  down  so  many  days.  One  by 
one  he  placed  them  all,  studied  them  and  .eliminated 
them  from  the  list  of  likelihoods,  until  he  came  to  the 
figure  of  an  unknown  negro,  a  hod-carrier,  since  drifted 
away,  who  had  helped  the  plasterers  in  their  work. 
Here  the  Sergeant's  attention  lingered  and  fixed.  It 
grew  in  his  mind  to  find  that  hod-carrier.  * '  Some  day, ' ' 
he  thought, '  *  I  shall  cross  his  trail.  Then  we  shall  see. ' ' 

Now  came  an  evening  in  April  when  news  spread 
abroad  in  Monessen  that  a  young  girl  of  sixteen,  a 
telephone  operator,  on  her  way  from  her  home  to  her 
work  in  the  village  of  Pricedale,  had  been  waylaid, 
robbed,  and  assaulted.  Escaping  with  her  life,  the 
poor  child  was  as  yet  unable  to  give  a  description  of 
her  assailant,  excepting  that  he  was  a  negro,  and  that 
she  had  bitten  one  of  his  fingers.  Blood  on  her  face 
and  on  her  bodice,  the  fact  that  she  herself  had  not 
been  cut,  corroborated  the  truth  of  this  solitary  clue. 
Such  a  crime  would  rouse  any  community,  regardless 
of  the  identity  of  the  object,  and  the  fact  that  the  victim 
here  had  many  friends,  was  merry  and  pretty,  and  a 
village  belle,  added  to  the  rage  of  the  people. 

Now,  if  there  is  any  one  sin  above  all  others  on  which 
the  State  Police  is  pledged  to  mortal  war,  that  sin  is 
rape.  On  the  day  of  the  Force's  inception  the  combat 
was  vowed,  and  in  1914  Major  Groome  still  wrote  as 
follows: 

To  my  mind  the  most  unpardonable  crime  in  the  whole 
category  of  crime  is  that  of  Rape  or  attempted  Rape. 


90  Justice  to  All 

According  to  law  the  most  serious  crime  is  Murder,  as  that 
is  the  only  one  punishable  by  death,  but  the  victim  of  a 
criminal  assault,  unlike  the  murder  victim,  lives  for  years, 
frequently  a  mental  and  physical  wreck ;  and  while  it  should 
be  a  matter  of  mortification  to  every  law-abiding  citizen 
of.  fthe  Commonwealth  that  this  particular  crime  occurs 
so  frequently  in  this  State,  yet  we  cannot  close  our  eyes  to 
the  facts.  Records  of  the  Department  show  that  we  have 
made  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  arrests  for  Rape  and 
Attempted  Rape  since  the  Force  was  organized,  and  God 
knows  how  many  times  the  crime  has  been  committed 
without  being  reported  to  this  Department.  A  nd  all  of  these 
crimes  were  committed  and  arrests  made  in  the  rural  districts. 

Not  in  Pennsylvania  alone,  but  everywhere  in  civil- 
ized human  society,  prevails  that  strong  instinct  that 
works  in  collusion  with  the  criminal  here — the  instinct 
to  hide  by  any  possible  means  the  victim  of  such  an 
assault.  How  nearly  invincible  would  be  the  family's 
desire,  for  the  sake  of  the  sufferer  and  scarcely  less  for 
its  own  sake,  to  conceal  the  facts,  can  easily  be  realized 
by  putting  one's  self  in  the  family's  place.  And  thus 
it  happens  not  in  rural  Pennsylvania  alone  that  this 
unspeakable  sin  is  suffered  uncounted  times  to  each 
once  that  it  is  made  known  or  punished. 

No  sooner,  then,  did  the  news  of  the  outrage  upon 
the  young  telephone  operator  reach  Monessen  sub- 
station than  the  Sergeant  sprang  to  the  trail,  with 
all  six  troopers  of  his  detachment.  Wider  and  wider, 
all  night  long,  he  swung  his  net  encircling  the  scene  of 
the  crime,  examining  each  negro  swept  within  its  folds. 
One  by  one  he  discarded  the  catch  and  swung  the  net 
again.  And  always,  away  in  the  back  of  his  mind, 
stirred  the  thought:  "Is  this  trail  the  trail  of  the  hod- 
man?" 


A  Sergeant  of  Troop  "A"  91 

Working  thus,  and  with  all  speed,  it  was  still  in  the 
small  hours  when  he  came  upon  the  repute  of  a  negro 
said  to  haunt  a  lonely  spot  in  open  country  out  of 
Pricedale.  Detaching  two  troopers,  the  Sergeant 
veered  to  this  scent.  In  the  earlier  night  heavy  rains 
had  fallen.  The  night  was  thick,  and  inky  dark. 
Neither  moon  nor  stars  were  showing.  When  the 
detail  reached  the  brink  of  the  basin  in  whose  bottom 
the  negro  was  said  to  live,  blackness  defied  their  eyes 
like  a  wall  of  lead. 

Plunging  down  the  barren  slope,  they  found  in  the 
depths  a  house  whose  size  suggested  that  it  once  had 
been  some  comfortable  farmer's  home.  Now  it  had 
dropped  into  ragged  and  desolate  decay — a  derelict, 
abandoned  save  of  bats  and  their  mortal  counterparts. 
Groping  along  the  eerie  bulk,  the  Sergeant  found  the 
door  and  knocked.  No  reply.  Again,  and  louder. 
A  slight  stir  within,  and  a  thick,  dull  voice:  " Who's 
there?" 

' '  The  State  Police.     Open  your  door ! ' ' 

Then  came  a  snarl  like  the  snarl  of  a  wild  beast, 
hideous  out  of  that  shapeless  night. 

"Open,  or  we  break  the  door  in!" 

A  howl  of  imprecations,  obscenities,  and  defiance, 
ending  in  a  shriek: 

"The  first  man  in,  111  kill!" 

"Why,  now,  men,  we  have  to  get  in,"  observed  the 
Sergeant  to  his  troopers,  very  quietly. 

So  they  dragged  a  rail  from  the  rickety  fence,  and, 
holding  it  ram-fashion,  ran  at  the  door.  As  the  door 
flew  off  its  hinges,  the  Sergeant  stood  in  the  thresh- 
old, revolver  raised.  His  glance,  searching  the  black 
blank  within,  saw  something  forming  upon  it — two 
eyes — the  outline  of  a  face. 


92  Justice  to  All 

"Hands  up ! "  snapped  the  Sergeant.  And  with  that, 
lunging  at  the  muzzle  of  the  revolver,  the  negro  seized 
it  in  his  teeth.  Snarling,  frothing,  he  tore  at  the  cold 
steel,  grinding  it  between  his  great  jaws. 

Shoving  his  gun  back  into  its  holster,  the  Sergeant 
gripped  the  madman  by  the  shoulders  and  sat  him 
down.  Now  from  the  inner  lair  crept  a  negress,  bearing 
a  light. 

"  Please,  sir,  he  don't  know  what  he's  doin';  he's 
been  takin'  cocaine  all  night." 

Satisfied  after  examination  that  the  den  did  not 
contain  his  man,  but  making  rapid  mental  note  of  that 
which  was  presently  to  result  in  the  wiping  out  of  the 
local  cocaine  trade,  the  Sergeant  sped  on. 

Wider  and  wider  he  swung  his  circle,  working  all 
six  troopers  of  the  substation  night  and  day,  as  long 
as  the  men  could  stand  the  strain.  One  by  one,  their 
endurance  ended.  One  by  one,  they  turned  back  for  a 
scrap  of  rest;  then  to  take  the  field  again,  loyally 
pursuing  the  routine  work  that  supported  the  structure 
of  the  case. 

As  for  the  Sergeant  himself,  three  days  and  three 
nights  did  he  keep  to  the  road,  never  once  taking  off 
his  clothes,  never  once  lying  down,  never  once  snatch- 
ing a  moment's  sleep  except  as  that  was  possible  in 
moving  vehicles  on  the  trail.  And  always,  beneath 
the  present  impelling  thought,  "Am  I  hunting  our  hod- 
man now?"  sang  the  words  in  the  back  of  his  head. 

Westmoreland  County,  Washington,  Fayette,  he 
dragnetted  with  his  own  hands;  searching,  finding, 
discarding,  beginning  afresh.  And  so  the  morning 
that  ended  the  third  day  found  him  close  to  the  Ohio 
border,  now  with  Private  McGarigle  as  aide,  trailing 
a  negro  known  as  a  denizen  of  Seldom  Seen  Hollow, 


A  Sergeant  of  Troop  "A"  93 

near  the  town  of  Belle  Vernon.  This  man  could  not 
now  be  found  in  his  peculiar  haunts.  But  someone 
had  noticed  him  there  a  day  or  two  before  and  had 
noticed  also  a  rag  on  his  finger.  Since,  it  was  surmised, 
he  had  crossed  the  Monongahela  River,  although  where 
no  one  knew  nor  whither  bound.  Then  the  Sergeant 
began  a  hunt  among  the  ferrymen. 

"Have  you  carried  across  the  river  a  negro  with  a 
bandaged  finger?"  "Have  you  carried  across  the 
river  a  negro  with  a  bandaged  finger?" 

Could  any  question  sound  more  hopeless?  But 
the  Sergeant,  nevertheless,  saw  three  good  reasons 
for  hope:  First,  a  ferryman  may  notice  many  details 
that  would  escape  a  more  preoccupied  mind;  second, 
all  ferrymen  must  particularly  observe  those  of  whom 
they  collect  fares  in  order  that  no  one  shall  ride  free; 
and  third,  because  they  collect  fares  and  make  change, 
they  see  the  hands  of  the  passengers.  So,  and  so 
searching,  the  Sergeant  finally  found  a  man  who  knew 
that  he  had  carried  a  negro  with  a  rag  on  his  finger 
across  the  Monongahela  two  days  ago.  The  ferryman 
knew,  also,  that  this  man  had  spoken  of  Charleroi. 

In  Charleroi,  on  the  farther  side  of  the  river,  the 
Sergeant  learned  that  which  led  him  to  strike  to  the 
north  toward  the  little  village  of  Finleyville  on  the  bor- 
der of  Allegheny  County.  Once  arrived,  his  practiced 
hand  was  quick  to  find  the  trail.  And  as  he  traced 
it  through  the  streets,  in  the  back  of  his  head  ever 
louder  hummed  the  words:  "Shall  I  find  my  hod-man 
now?" 

Then  he  turned  the  last  corner  and  saw,  among  a  gang 
of  masons,  a  negro  with  a  bandage  on  the  first  finger  of 
his  right  hand.  And  that  very  negro,  beyond  any 
manner  of  doubt,  was  mixing  mortar  for  a  hod! 


94  Justice  to  All 

The  Sergeant  approached  him  quietly. 

"I  am  a  State  Police  officer,"  said  he.  "I  want  the 
man  that  assaulted  a  young  girl  in  Pricedale  on  Tues- 
day night.  The  girl  can  positively  identify  that  man. 
Is  it  you?" 

"No!  Oh,  no,  sah!"  protested  the  negro.  "I  isn't 
the  man.  Everybody  knows  me  around  here!" 

Said  the  Sergeant : 

"I  believe  you  are  the  man,  but  I  shall  not  arrest  you 
now.  I  shall  be  going  back  on  the  train  this  evening, 
and  you  are  going  with  me  to  confront  this  girl.  The 
train  leaves  in  an  hour.  If  you  are  not  guilty  then  the 
girl  cannot  identify  you,  and  I  shall  pay  your  return 
fare.  /  shall  come  back." 

Walking  up  the  street  and  past  the  corner  of  the 
building  under  construction,  the  Sergeant  ran  around 
the  corner  to  a  point  where  he  could  watch  the  negro 
without  being  seen.  There  he  stopped,  hidden,  his 
eyes  on  his  man.  The  fellow  went  on  for  a  bit 
stirring  his  mortar.  Then  he  stopped,  looked  at  his 
hand.  Resuming  the  work  after  a  moment,  he  pres- 
ently stopped  once  more  and  stared  at  his  bandaged 
finger.  Again,  hesitatingly,  the  same  action.  Then 
throwing  down  the  mortar-hoe  for  good  and  all,  he 
broke  into  a  run  across  a  vacant  lot.  As  the  Sergeant's 
hand  fell  on  his  shoulder  he  had  gained  two  hundred 
feet. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  asked  the  Sergeant. 

"Goin'  for  a  drink,  sah.     Only  jes'  goin'  for  a  drink." 

So  the  Sergeant  and  Trooper  McGarigle,  gathering 
him  in  without  delay,  set  out  on  the  homeward  route. 
Meantime  the  Sergeant  began  at  once  to  make  vital 
use  of  the  interval  of  passage,  in  getting  the  prisoner's 
own  story  of  his  proceedings  during  the  period  of 


A  Sergeant  of  Troop  "A"  95 

present  interest  to  the  police.  And  his  story  was  most 
complete. 

His  finger,  he  explained,  he  had  torn  Tuesday  even- 
ing, on  a  nail  on  the  railing  of  that  long  flight  of  stairs 
that  leads  down  into  Seldom  Seen  Hollow  from  the 
highroad  above.  Because  the  finger  bled,  he  had 
stopped  at  the  house  of  the  colored  preacher,  Mr. 
Timmins,  to  get  it  bandaged.  Thence  he  had  gone  on 
to  a  Hod-Carriers'  Union  meeting  at  Charleroi,  where 
he  had  spent  the  remainder  of  the  evening.  And  thus 
inclusively  did  he  place  himself  and  his  time  all  through. 

"How  is  your  finger  now?" 

"Mos'  well,  sah." 

"Take  off  the  cloth  and  let  me  see." 

Uneasily,  the  man  obeyed.  Across  the  finger-nail, 
directly  opposite  to  the  cut  in  the  flesh  on  the  inner 
side,  ran  a  bruise  singularly  corresponding  to  the  im- 
print of  human  teeth. 

Said  the  Sergeant:  "I  thought  so.  And  I  think, 
too,  that  you  are  the  man  that  assaulted  and  killed 
the  little  girl  in  the  field  a  half  a  year  ago." 

"Gawd  forgive  me,  captain!  You  is  a  cruel  man!" 
cried  the  negro.  "What  has  this  poor  nigger  done  to 
you  for  you  to  persecute  him  so!  Gawd  knows  I  never 
hurt  nobody  in  all  my  life — let  alone  no  little  girls! 
Oh,  sah!  you  is  a  savage,  cruel  man!" 

But  the  Sergeant  was  busy  writing  the  prisoner's 
detailed  story  into  his  note-book  preparatory  to  his 
next  step.  His  duty,  as  he  saw  it,  was  but  half  done, 
and  the  remainder  would  brook  not  a  moment's  delay. 
No  time  yet  to  think  of  fatigue,  of  rest!  He  must  not 
even  stop  to  carry  his  prisoner  over  to  the  county  jail. 
He  must  check  that  story,  quick,  now,  point  for  point, 
before  the  trail  could  be  crossed  or  the  scent  grow  cold. 


96  Justice  to  All 

And  no  one  could  do  the  work  but  himself.  So,  for 
the  interval,  he  lodged  his  prisoner  quietly  in  the  nearest 
place  of  safe-keeping,  Belle  Vernon  jail.  Then — and 
think  of  the  resolution,  the  endurance,  the  impersonal 
triumph  of  the  spirit  of  the  man — he  started  instantly 
back  over  the  ground  covered  by  the  negro's  tale. 

Descending  into  Seldom  Seen  Hollow,  he  found 
indeed  a  long  railed  stair;  but  in  the  rail  were  no  nails, 
neither  any  sign  that  nails  had  ever  been  there.  In 
Seldom  Seen  Hollow  lived  indeed  a  negro  preacher, 
Timmins;  but  when  asked  if  a  man  had  stopped  at  his 
house  that  Tuesday  night  to  have  his  finger  bandaged: 

"No  sir,  before  the  good  Lawd,  he  never  stopped  at 
this  house!"  asserted  Timmins;  and  all  the  family, 
called  and  questioned  one  by  one,  kept  to  the  same 
statement. 

As  to  the  Hod-Carriers'  Union,  it  had  indeed  held  its 
meeting  on  that  Tuesday  night,  but  those  known  to 
have  been  present  swore  that  the  negro  had  never  ap- 
peared. Next,  going  over  the  territory  involved, 
the  Sergeant  demonstrated  conclusively  that  a  man 
had  ample  time,  after  the  hour  in  which  the  crime  had 
been  committed,  to  cross  the  Monongahela  and  to 
appear  in  Finleyville  as  the  prisoner  had  done. 

Meantime,  in  the  town  of  Belle  Vernon,  a  whisper 
had  crept  out  as  to  the  identity  of  the  negro  just  lodged 
in  the  jail.  And  the  whisper  worked  like  oil  on  fire. 
For  no  sooner  was  the  name  of  the  man  heard  than  his 
past  sprang  up  to  brand  him.  Only  two  years  before 
had  he  finished  a  penitentiary  sentence  imposed  for 
criminal  assault  upon  a  woman  seventy  years  old — 
a  woman  whom  he  surprised  alone  and  helpless  in 
her  isolated  cottage,  alone  and  helpless  as  so  many  wo- 
men are. 


A  Sergeant  of  Troop  "A"  97 

Now  the  news  swept  through  the  place  like  a 
hurricane.  When  the  Sergeant  reached  the  jail,  the 
street  before  it  was  already  black  with  furious  men, 
hungry  for  the  negro's  life.  And  the  Sergeant  knew 
himself  pitted  in  battle  against  that  raving  mass. 
Instants  counted.  It  was  wit,  wit  and  the  right,  against 
the  humanly  inevitable.  What  guides  a  man  in  a 
moment  like  this?  Guides  him  straight  and  quick 
when  the  slightest  slip  means  ruin?  Thought  and 
action  came  like  one. 

"Is  there  another  negro  prisoner  in  the  jail?"  asked 
the  Sergeant. 

"Yes,"  came  the  answer, — another  negro  held  for 
some  minor  cause. 

"Let  it  be  known,  then,  that  I  am  going  to  remove 
my  man,"  said  the  Sergeant. 

Then  he  caused  the  second  negro  to  be  brought  from 
his  confinement,  placed  in  the  hands  of  his  trooper  aide, 
and  by  that  officer  conducted  down  the  jail  alley,  as 
though  in  an  attempt  to  convey  him  secretly  away. 
Falling  easily  into  the  trap,  the  crowd  rushed  down 
the  alley  on  the  heels  of  the  decoy,  while  the  Ser- 
geant walked  out  of  the  front  door,  with  his  captive, 
and  boarded  a  passing  street  car.  But  before  the 
trolley  could  resume  headway,  the  crowd  had  dis- 
covered its  mistake. 

"Give  us  that  nigger,"  they  yelled.  " Give-us-that- 
nigger!"  Like  wolves  they  surged  back,  swarming 
around  the  tailboard,  brandishing  guns. 

The  man  who  had  gone  three  nights  and  three  days 
without  sleep,  working  and  thinking  hard  the  while, 
towered  above  them  grim  as  Gibraltar,  a  curious  smile 
on  his  lips.  A  little  hard,  perhaps,  to  give  his  life  for 
the  life  of  that  inconceivable  wretch  now  groveling, 


98  Justice  to  All 

moaning,  whining,  scatheless  at  his  back?  But — was 
it  hard  to  die  for  the  "finest  thing  in  the  world"?  A 
smile  lighted  the  Sergeant's  eyes — eyes  as  straight  and 
steady  as  the  stock  of  his  leveled  revolver. 

"I  don't  want  to  kill  any  of  you  men,"  he  said, 
pleasantly.  "You  are  friends  of  mine." 

One  moment  of  mortal  tension,  while  the  two  sides 
silently  faced  each  other.  Then,  slowly,  slowly,  the 
mob  mind  faltered,  gave  way — rendered  its  bounden 
tribute  to  the  Right  made  Visible.  It  was  done. 

As  to  the  negro,  as  he  lay  dying  of  disease  in  the 
Penitentiary  four  years  later,  he  confessed  that  it  was 
he,  the  hodman,  he  and  no  other,  who  had  destroyed 
that  little  maid  in  the  fields  and  left  her  there  beneath 
the  great  white  sky. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

AS  THE  RED  DOG  RUNS 

IN  connection  with  these  new  substation  activities, 
from  the  early  spring  of  1907  on,  the  Force  in  all  four 
quarters  of  the  State  saw  much  service  in  forest  fire 
work.  Very  often  it  was  the  substation  trooper,  riding 
patrol,  who  first  discovered  the  blaze.  When  that 
happened,  the  officer  would  call  to  his  aid  such  help  as 
could  quickly  be  found,  if  any  there  was,  and  lead  it  in 
the  work  of  fire  fighting.  Again  and  again  the  record 
shows  a  vain  initial  hunt  for  the  local  constable  whose 
duty  it  was  to  handle  the  emergency,  but  who,  not 
strangely,  was  often  missing  from  the  scene  of  his 
devoirs.  Who  would  feed  the  constable's  children  if 
the  constable  hung  about  all  day  attending  upon  the 
public  weal? 

The  reports  of  all  four  Troops  began  now  to  be 
flecked  with  flames.  For  example,  on  April  3d, 
Sergeant  Walsh  and  twelve  privates  of  "B" 
Troop  extinguished  a  forest  fire  near  Sturmer- 
ville.  Only  after  a  fight  of  several  hours  did  they 
master  the  blaze,  which  threatened  a  large  amount 
of  property. 

Next  day,  Private  Snyder  of  "C"  Troop,  patrolling 
in  Berks  County,  discovered  a  dangerous  forest  fire, 
but,  in  the  time  available,  could  by  no  means  discover 
either  constable  or  any  other  official  who  recognized 
in  the  situation  a  personal  duty.  Private  Snyder, 

99 


ioo  Justice  to  All 

therefore,  hired  men  on  his  own  account  and  in  a  few 
hours  had  saved  the  woodland. 

On  the  same  day  Sergeant  Van  Voorhees,  also  of  "C" 
Troop,  was  sent  with  a  detail  of  six  troopers  to  assist  the 
constable  of  Windsor  township,  Berks,  in  putting  out  a 
great,  destructive  blaze  there  spreading.  But  Sergeant 
Van  Voorhees  met  that  day  a  blaze  more  mordant  than 
red  flames.  The  constable  of  Windsor  was  perhaps 
soul's  kin  to  the  admirable  Constable  Sunday, — for, 
seeing  the  State  troopers  coming  to  his  aid,  he  forth- 
with withdrew  his  presence  from  the  place,  sweeping 
with  him  every  supporter.  Was  the  constable  of 
Windsor  all  outraged  majesty,  or  was  he  in  part  lazi- 
ness? In  either  case,  he  marched  away  from  the  scene 
of  his  displeasure,  leaving  the  little  State  Police  detail 
alone  to  save  his  bailiwick;  and  save  it  those  seven  men 
did,  after  a  hard  fight  that  lasted  all  the  night  long. 
Thus  in  rapid  succession,  day  after  day,  came  the  fire- 
calls  and  their  answers. 

The  growing  importance  of  this  branch  of  the  Force's 
work  was  hailed  from  many  directions.  The  farmer 
whose  wood-lot  led  up  to  his  barns,  the  lumberman  whose 
property  was  exposed  to  the  trespass  of  careless  tramps 
and  hunters,  the  villages  whose  outskirts  touched  upon 
forest  lands,  alike  realized  through  demonstration  the 
value  of  the  eagle-eyed  patrol  who  sighted  their  danger 
at  the  incipient  stage,  and  who  then  needed  no  pecuniary 
stimulus  to  inspire  him  to  the  most  intelligent,  the 
most  tireless  exertion. 

By  the  same  convincing  channel — personal  experience 
— these  people  learned  that  if  they  asked  for  a  State 
Police  detail  to  help  fight  the  flames,  and  the  Force  had 
men  free  to  comply,  that  detail,  from  the  moment  that 
it  landed  on  the  scene  until  the  moment  the  ashes  died, 


As  the  Red  Dog  Runs  101 

would  fight  as  no  other  men  could  be  made  to  fight, 
save  him  to  whom  the  property  belonged.  And  when 
all  was  over,  blackened,  scorched,  exhausted,  the  troop- 
ers went  as  they  came,  without  promise,  without  pay, 
and  refusing  all  reward. 

This  obvious  value  was  and  is  —  for  conditions 
remain  to-day  as  they  were  in  1907 — easily  related  to 
figures.  But  the  greater  sum  of  the  Force's  effective- 
ness lies  on  the  superior  plane  of  prevention,  and  there- 
fore cannot  be  reduced  to  exact  terms  of  cash.  Mr. 
Robert  S.  Conklin,  the  present  Commissioner  of 
Forestry,  has  lately  expressed  the  fact  thus: 

Forest  fires  but  rarely  occur  where  the  State'Police  pa- 
trols work.  Even  when  they  have  but  a  man  or  two  in  a 
county,  no  one  knows  where  that  man  will  turn  up.  But  it 
is  well  and  widely  known  that,  when  he  does  come,  he  is 
afraid  of  no  one  and  of  nothing;  that  nothing  can  stop  him 
and  that  he  will  enforce  the  law. 

Mr.  Conklin's  remark  particularly  concerns  the  many 
fires  that  are  set  by  human  hands — by  campers  or  by 
hunters,  or  by  tramps,  who,  building  fires  in  the  woods 
to  broil  their  bacon  or  to  dry  their  clothes,  neglect  to 
quench  them;  by  malicious  persons  with  a  grudge  to 
serve;  sometimes,  and  not  seldom,  by  those  strange, 
wry-brained  folk  everywhere  to  be  found  in  our  remote 
woods  and  hills,  yet  whose  very  existence  is  still  un- 
guessed  by  the  world  at  large.  Curious  degenerates, 
scarcely  human  often,  they  are  practically  the  same  in 
the  Pennsylvania  forests,  in  the  hills  of  New  York  back 
from  the  Hudson,  in  Georgia,  in  the  New  Jersey  pines. 
They  are  rather  a  ghastly  people,  none  the  less  so 
because  we  know  neither  it  nor  them — and  one  who 
wished  to  study  them  could  gather  more  material  from 


102  Justice  to  All 

the  unwritten  annals  of  the  mercies  ot  the  State  Police 
than  from  any  other  single  source. 

Among  the  numberless  eerie  traits  of  this  weird 
product  of  isolation,  in-breeding,  and  midnight  igno- 
rance is  the  recurring  passion  "to  see  the  Red  Dog 


run." 


"I  could  wait  no  longer.  I  had  to  see  the  Red  Dog 
run!"  breathes  Caliban,  rarely  confessing,  the  mad 
fleer  of  imp-light  in  his  pale,  flat  eyes. 

A  sort  of  cave-man's  cunning  goes  into  the  laying  of 
his  plan.  He  knows  enough  to  know  that  he  is  plotting 
evil — but  the  thirst  is  upon  him,  like  a  negro's  thirst 
for  the  voodoo  drums,  and,  like  the  negro,  he  wraps  the 
uncanny  thing  in  a  certain  fragmentary  ceremony.  He 
slinks  off  to  the  glorious,  spreading  woods,  where  the 
great  trees  stretch  for  mile  on  mile  with  branches  inter- 
laced. There  in  the  dry  moss  at  the  foot  of  some  huge 
resinous  pine,  he  digs  a  very  little  hole.  Into  that  hole 
he  sinks  a  bit  of  candle,  lights  it,  arches  the  tiny  blaze 
with  sticky  needles;  then,  unnoticed  as  a  wind-blown 
cicada  shell,  he  flits  away,  in  his  leaf-colored  garb,  like  a 
soulless  shape  of  illusion,  to  crouch  under  a  bough  on  an 
opposite  hill,  solitary  and  unseen.  So,  all  night  long, 
he  feasts  his  wild  eyes  on  the  cruel  sheets  of  fire  that 
spread  and  spread,  roaring,  flaring  gorgeously,  devouring 
that  whose  loss  impoverishes  the  earth,  that  which  no 
living  man  can  hope  to  see  restored. 

Among  a  worldful  of  figures  of  irony,  where  is  one 
stranger  than  this — a  creature  of  utter  feebleness,  as 
poor  and  more  ignorant  than  any  squirrel  or  jay,  yet 
mad  with  love  of  cataclysmic  beauty,  and  feeding  that 
madness  to  himself  alone  with  spectacles  beyond  the  ut- 
most dreams  of  Emperors! 

In  minds  of  this  strange  turn  lies  the  cunning  that 


As  the  Red  Dog  Runs  103 

relates  to  weakness.  Suspicious,  watchful,  they  bring 
an  unhuman  wariness  to  the  shielding  of  their  deeds. 
And  the  type  unites  to  protect  its  kind.  Forest  Com- 
missioner Conklin,  in  a  recent  very  able  statement, 
said: 

In  a  multitude  of  cases  it  would  be  practically  impossible 
for  us,  unaided  by  the  State  Police,  to  get  evidence  to  con- 
vict infringers  of  our  protective  laws.  Like  many  remoter 
peoples,  our  hill  and  woodland  folk  have  their  own  peculiar 
and  evasive  psychology.  The  man  who  lives  among  them, 
as  my  wardens  must,  often  cannot  handle  them,  if  only  be- 
cause they  know  him  too  well.  The  detectives  from  a  city 
agency  cannot  possibly  understand  them  and  are  therefore 
worse  than  useless.  But  the  State  Policeman  brings  a 
keenly  trained,  highly  intelligent  mind,  taught  in  their  very 
psychology,  molded  by  study  and  by  experience  to  this  very 
work.  He  knows  the  manner  of  thought  of  these  people,  and 
how  to  get  at  them.  He  comes,  a  stranger,  unknown,  to  the 
scene  of  need.  Dressed  in  plain  clothes,  he  perhaps  gets 
work  in  some  lumber  camp,  perhaps  goes  to  board  at  the 
house  of  the  man  whom  he  has  grown  to  suspect.  After  a 
fortnight  or  so  of  quiet  investigation,  during  which  he  has 
aroused  no  suspicion  among  an  always  suspicious  people, 
he  has  picked  up  enough  evidence  to  complete  the  chain. 
And  here  again  is  another  of  his  advantages.  He  knows 
the  exact  bearing  of  the  law.  He  knows  what  evidence  is 
required.  And  he  knows  how  to  present  and  conduct  the 
completed  case  far  better  than  any  but  the  most  exceptional 
local  authority. 

Mr.  George  A.  Wirt,  Chief  Forest  Fire  Warden  of 
the  State,  gives  a  four-square  judgment  thus: 

When  the  State  shall  have  done  its  manifest  duty  by  the 
rural  districts,  in  doubling  or  tripling  our  present  State 
Police  Force,  thereby  permitting  an  increased  State  Police 


104  Justice  to  All 

patrol,  the  efficiency  of  our  Forest  Fire  service  will  be 
enormously  increased.  And  the  money  invested  in  timber- 
land  and  its  protection  will  bring  correspondingly  greater 
returns.  Taking  a  forest  area  comparable  in  size  to  the 
Adirondack  tract,  this  Department's  concrete  experience 
is  that  even  a  dozen  or  two  of  our  State  Policemen  detailed 
to  patrol  such  a  tract  in  fire  season  are  of  incalculable  value 
to  the  Conservation  interests. 

Continuing  on  the  general  subjects  of  forest  fire 
service  and  the  State  Police,  Mr.  Wirt  says: 

It  must  be  remembered  that  our  State  Police  are  not 
like  any  other  agency  that  exists  in  the  country.  Nothing 
else  can  be  mentioned  in  their  class.  A  fine  lot  of  fellows 
to  start  with,  they  have  that  high  pride  in  their  organization 
that  makes  each  individual  one  of  them  go  to  the  farthest 
extreme  that  he  can  devise  to  make  good.  To  know  a 
given  locality  before  our  State  Police  were  sent  there  and  to 
know  it  afterward,  is  to  have  seen  a  striking  metamorphosis. 
There  are  no  exceptions.  This  applies  to  every  condition 
related  to  safety,  decency,  health,  and  peace  in  rural  life. 

In  many  of  our  country  localities  we  used  to  levy  upon 
ourselves  neighborhood  assessments  to  pay  for  a  local 
patrol.  But  what  did  our  local  patrol  do  when  he  caught 
a  local  individual  as  an  offender?  We  pay  taxes  still  for 
village  police.  In  the  smaller  places  what  returns  do  we 
get  for  them?  But  let  me  cite  a  minor  example  of  the 
immediate  question.  It  happened  not  far  from  Wilkes- 
Barre,  about  four  years  ago,  and  it  is  generally  characteristic 
of  the  work. 

At  this  time  and  place,  there  was  much  trouble  through 
forest  fires.  The  foreigners,  accustomed  in  their  own 
countries  to  go  into  the  woods  on  Sunday,  and  missing  here 
the  uniformed  and  watchful  authority  that  kept  them  in 
bounds  across  the  sea,  continued  their  habitual  Sunday 
excursions  into  the  Wilkes-Barre  woods,  where  they  lighted 


As  the  Red  Dog  Runs  105 

fires  to  boil  their  coffee  and  went  away  leaving  them  burning, 
threw  their  cigar  butts  about,  and  committed  other  acts 
of  stupid  carelessness.  Innumerable  forest  fires  were  the 
consequence. 

At  last  a  certain  energetic  woman  who  owned  a  wood- 
tract  got  up  a  petition  for  a  detail  of  State  Police.  A 
small  detail  was  sent.  The  troopers  at  once  found  and  ar- 
rested two  or  three  foreigners  who  had  started  fires.  The 
news  spread;  the  fires  stopped.  The  detail  was  left  in 
that  region — a  section  of  fifty  or  more  square  miles — for 
some  little  time.  Its  mere  presence  prevented  any  further 
difficulty  where  trouble  before  had  been  endless,  and  made 
such  an  impression  that  nothing  of  the  sort  has  recurred 
since.  * 

The  forest  fires  of  springtime  are  perhaps  less  con- 
spicuous than  those  of  the  autumn,  but  they  have  a 
peculiarly  cruel  significance  not  always  in  mind;  they 
wreak  a  complete  destruction  of  nesting  birds,  of  fledg- 
lings, and  of  the  young  of  all  small  woodland  creatures. 
In  this  way  they  are  infinitely  worse  than  the  catas- 
trophes of  the  later  season,  although  both  alike 
devour  for  mile  on  mile  not  only  all  the  present  food 
supply  of  bird  and  beast,  but  all  their  hope  of  food  for 
years  to  come.  Tree,  shrub,  plant,  vine,  are  killed 
and  gone — with  all  their  nuts  and  seeds  and  berries  that 
would  have  tided  the  little  lives  over  the  starveling 
winter  months. 

Through  this  avenue,  then,  among  various  others, 
the  Game  Commission,  both  in  its  relation  to  sports- 
men's interests  and  in  its  relation  to  the  interests  of 
agriculture,  enthusiastically  welcomed  its  new  ally,  the 
State  Police. 

Dr.  Joseph  Kalbfus,  Secretary  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Game  Commission,  in  his  official  report  of  1908,  dilating 


io6  Justice  to  All 

on  the  great  help  afforded  to  his  work  through  this 
channel,  concluded : 

"I  would  like  very  much  to  see  the  Force  increased, 
so  that  a  detail  of  at  least  ten  men  might  be  ordinarily 
located  in  each  county." 

Dr.  Kalbfus's  department  had  long  and  heavily  felt 
the  need  of  a  greater  attention  on  the  part  of  the  State 
to  the  protection  s  of  her  rural  and  sylvan  regions. 
"No  law  is  stronger  than  the  power  that  is  behind  it, " 
and  the  State  game  wardens,  in  attempting  to  enforce 
conservation  laws  with  their  own  unaided  hands,  had 
frequently  paid  a  mortal  penalty.  In  the  year  1906 
alone,  fourteen  State  game  wardens  were  shot  at,  seven 
wounded  and  four  killed,  either  in  revenge  for  duties 
performed  or  in  the  contested  execution  of  duty.  But 
by  the  year  1907,  the  State  Police  had  inaugurated  a 
closed  season  for  State  game  wardens,  which  they  have 
not  since  relaxed.  In  that  year,  also,  the  Force  made 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  arrests  for  illegal  hunting 
and  fishing,  of  which  number  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
had  resulted  in  convictions  at  the  time  that  the  annual 
report  went  to  press,  while  twenty  awaited  trial. 

Of  those  convicted,  one,  sad  to  relate,  was  himself 
a  special  State  game  warden.  This  mistaken  person, 
reckoning  without  "B"  Troop's  vigilance,  had  caught 
one  hundred  and  thirty  trout  under  six  inches  in  length, 
and  sold  them  to  a  Wilkes-Barre  club.  The  trooper  who 
guided  his  immediately  subsequent  career  so  well  under- 
stood his  own  share  in  the  matter  that  the  original 
alderman's  verdict,  appealed,  was  confirmed  in  the 
Court  of  Appeals  and  again  in  the  Superior  Court. 
In  default  of  thirteen  hundred  dollars  fine — ten  dollars 
a  trout — the  warden  finally  went  to  jail  for  thirteen 
hundred  days. 


As  the  Red  Dog  Runs  107 

It  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  follow  the  relation  of  the 
two  departments  to  each  other  from  the  beginning  up  to 
the  present  time,  and  still  to  find  it  without  flaw. 
In  his  annual  report  of  1915,  Dr.  Kalbfus  is  yet  and 
even  more  strongly  urging  the  increase  of  the  State 
Police  Force,  saying  in  part : 

This  splendid  body  of  men  have  in  the  past  not  only 
rendered  very  great  aid  to  our  Protectors  when  called  upon, 
but  have  also,  all  over  the  State,  of  their  own  initiative, 
been  doing  everything  in  their  power  to  protect  our  wild 
birds  and  our  game,  rendering  us  help  in  our  work,  the  value 
of  which  cannot  be  estimated. 

Elsewhere  Dr.  Kalbfus  adds: 

The  value  of  the  work  done  by  the  Force  along  the  line  of 
conservation  and  bird  preservation  is  not  always  returned 
...  in  a  way  that  can  be  expressed  in  figures.  There 
is  an  extreme  value  derived  from  the  simple  presence  of 
these  men  riding  up  and  down  the  roads  in  uniform  where 
they  may  be  seen  and  recognized  by  everybody.  Their 
presence  in  a  community  is  felt  everywhere,  and  always 
for  good.  If  I  had  it  in  my  power  I  would  certainly  increase 
this  Force  three  or  four  times  over. 

At  first,  the  possibilities  of  help  and  service  embodied 
in  the  substations — in  the  little  groups  of  men  so 
placed  in  centres  of  need  as  to  be  rapidly  effective  along 
many  radii — was,  as  has  been  said,  but  dimly  guessed 
by  the  surrounding  inhabitants.  But  news  as  good  as 
that  which  emanated  from  those  centres  travels  fast. 
A  skipping  glance  down  the  columns  of  the  annual 
reports  shows  by  the  growing  variety  of  the  entries 
that  the  people  were  beginning  to  understand.  As,  for 
example: 


io8  Justice  to  All 

April  1 2th.  Sergeant  Wiechard  and  two  privates  of 
Troop  "  C  "  were  sent  to  Blandon,  Berks  County,  on  a  report 
that  a  store  and  the  Post  Office  had  been  robbed.  The 
detail  located  the  two  thieves,  and  after  an  exchange  of 
shots  and  a  running  fight  of  twenty  minutes  arrested  them. 
The  men  were  taken  with  the  stolen  goods  on  them,  and 
later  on  it  was  found  they  were  also  wanted  for  robberies 
at  Rothsville,  Lancaster  County. 

April  28th.  Detail  from  Troop  "C"  was  sent  to  the 
House  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  near  Reading,  upon  complaint 
of  the  Mother  Superior  that  a  gang  of  roughs  were  in  the 
habit  of  climbing  the  fence  surrounding  the  grounds, 
making  indecent  remarks,  and  insulting  the  young  girl 
inmates. 

May  I2th.  Privates  Nugent  and  Sterner  of  Troop  "  D  " 
succeeded  in  arresting  John  Perzuiski,  wanted  for  the 
murder  of  Mike  Besolla,  at  Walston,  Jefferson  County. 
Perzuiski  was  found  guilty  of  murder  in  the  second  degree 
and  sentenced  to  twelve  years  in  the  Penitentiary. 

June  22d.  Privates  Prynn  and  Warner  of  Troop  "C," 
on  duty  at  Terre  Hill,  Lancaster  County,  investigating 
complaints  from  farmers  of  that  vicinity,  of  continued 
stealing  of  their  farm  produce.  Four  men  were  arrested, 
found  guilty,  and  convicted. 

June  28th.  Word  was  received  that  an  unknown  man 
had  attempted  to  rape  a  fourteen-year-old  girl  at  Elk  Run, 
Jefferson  County.  Half  of  Troop  "D"  was  put  on  this 
case,  mounted,  dismounted,  and  in  plain  clothes,  hunting 
the  assailant.  And  although  he  was  unknown  to  them  and 
the  only  clue  they  had  was  picked  up  while  searching  the 
country,  they  located  their  man  .  .  .  and  arrested  him 
June  3Oth.  The  prisoner  was  tried,  found  criminally  insane, 
and  sent  to  the  State  Asylum. 

July  23d.  Sergeant  Walsh  and  seventeen  men  of  Troop 
"  B  "  were  sent  to  Wilkes-Barre  at  the  request  of  the  District 
Attorney  to  assist  in  raiding  several  gambling  houses. 
Four  houses  were  raided  simultaneously,  thirty  prisoners 


As  the  Red  Dog  Runs  109 

were  taken,  and  $8,000.00  worth  of  gambling  paraphernalia 
confiscated. 

September  26th.  Sergeant  Chambers  and  a  private 
of  Troop  "  D  "  arrested  Sarapina  Siranano,  who  was  wanted 
for  felonious  cutting  at  Indiana,  Indiana  County,  September, 
1906.  The  prisoner  was  turned  over  to  Sheriff  Wetling 
and  on  the  way  to  jail  Siranano  seriously  stabbed  the  sheriff 
and  made  his  escape.  Sergeant  Chambers  arrested  him 
later  at  Camp  Run,  Jefferson  County,  brought  him  back 
and  turned  him  over  to  the  authorities  of  Indiana  County. 

October  3oth.  Sergeant  Price  and  seven  privates  of 
Troop  "B  "  were  sent  to  Breslau,  a  foreign  settlement  three 
miles  south  of  Wilkes-Barre,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Charles 
H.  Miner,  County  Medical  Inspector,  to  establish  a  quaran- 
tine during  the  scarlet  fever  epidemic,  the  local  authorities 
being  unable  to  enforce  the  law.  .  .  .  After  the  detail's 
being  on  duty  ten  days  enforcing  the  quarantine  regulations 
the  local  authorities  were  enabled  to  maintain  the  quaran- 
tine and  the  detail  returned  to  the  barracks.  During  this 
tour  Private  Henry  contracted  a  serious  case  of  scarlet  fever. 

November  I4th.  Private  Herbert  Smith  and  two  other 
privates  of  Troop  "B  "  were  sent  to  investigate  the  robbery 
of  several  hundred  pounds  of  copper  wire  from  the  Moosic 
Lake  Traction  Company.  The  detail  found  that  the  poles 
had  been  cut  down  for  over  a  mile  and  a  large  quantity  of 
copper  wire  stolen.  From  marks  in  the  road  it  was  found 
that  a  two-horse  wagon  had  been  used  to  haul  the  wire 
away.  By  following  the  wagon  tracks,  the  stolen  wire 
was  located  in  the  mountains  nearby.  Smith  noticed 
from  the  hoof  prints  that  one  of  the  horses  was  shod  with  a 
peculiarly  shaped  bar  shoe,  and  with  this  clue  only  the  team 
was  thus  followed  for  forty-three  miles,  to  Carbondale, 
Lackawanna  County,  where  the  horse  with  the  peculiar 
shoe  was  found  in  a  livery  stable.  The  three  men  who  had 
hired  the  team  were  located,  and  not  being  able  to  account 
for  their  actions  at  the  time  the  wire  was  stolen,  were 
arrested.  They  were  tried  and  found  guilty. 


no  Justice  to  All 

Among  the  mass  of  significant  action  here  passed 
over  unremarked,  an  item  may  be  picked  up  as  ex- 
emplifying one  type  of  the  operation  of  the  Force. 

On  September  15,  1907,  the  Superintendent's  annual 
report  shows  a  brief  military  entry  of  the  murder  of 
Private  Kelleher  of  "C"  Troop  while  in  performance 
of  duty. 

Private  Timothy  Kelleher  had  fought  in  the  Boer 
army  through  the  Transvaal  War.  As  corporal  in  the 
2d  United  States  Cavalry,  he  had  done  his  share  in  the 
Philippines.  Discharged  with  the  character  of  "Excel- 
lent, "  he  had  enlisted  in  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police 
on  the  day  of  its  birth.  Private  Kelleher  was  a  brave 
man  and  a  good  soldier. 

On  Sunday  morning,  September  I5th,  Kelleher  was 
not  on  duty,  but  was  on  his  way  to  barracks,  unarmed, 
after  a  leave  of  absence.  He  had  come  within  half  a 
mile  of  barracks,  walking,  when  he  heard  the  shrieks 
of  a  woman  in  distress.  Running  to  the  rescue,  he  found 
the  victim,  who  had  already  been  terribly  handled, 
struggling  in  the  clutches  of  two  Italians.  The  trooper 
promptly  knocked  both  men  down  with  his  fists  and 
was  grappling  with  the  larger,  when  the  second  ruffian 
drew  a  stiletto  and  from  behind  dealt  him  a  gash  from 
which  he  must  have  died  only  a  few  moments  later. 
The  woman  had  already  escaped.  The  Italians  now 
fled  as  quickly.  Kelleher,  left  alone,  and  trying  to  stop 
his  wound  with  his  hand,  staggered  on  a  little  way 
toward  the  barracks.  In  the  road  his  comrades  found 
his  body,  almost  before  the  warmth  was  gone. 

Then  began  a  chase  in  the  true  fashion  of  the  Force. 

Every  available  member  of  the  Troop  was  ordered 
out,  some  in  plain  clothes,  some  in  uniform,  some 
mounted,  some  to  travel  by  rail.  As  fast  as  men  could 


As  the  Red  Dog  Runs  in 

move,  they  flung  a  great  circle  around  the  blood-stained 
spot.  Day  and  night  they  hunted  within  that  ring, 
every  man  of  them,  finding,  running  down,  discarding 
innumerable  possible  clues.  On  the  third  day,  one  man 
struck  a  true  scent;  the  murderers  were  identified. 

Upon  that  the  whole  troop  settled  to  a  fresh  run. 
Hunting,  hunting,  trailing  without  rest,  out  of  all  the 
swarming  myriads  of  indistinguishable  Italians  that 
cover  that  region,  and  three  broad  counties  away  from 
the  scene  of  the  murder,  they  singled  out  and  ran  to 
earth  a  cousin  and  confederate  of  one  of  the  miss- 
ing men. 

From  this  cousin,  after  a  lying  statement  that  di- 
verted some  of  the  troopers  to  useless  work,  they 
elicited  the  last  known  whereabouts  of  the  criminals. 
First  sheltered  by  other  Italians,  then  supplied  with 
money  and  helped  on  their  way,  these  two,  Salvatore 
Garito  and  Stefano  Porcella,  had  found  refuge  in  War- 
wick, New  York. 

Three  State  Police  officers,  including  an  Italian- 
speaking  trooper,  Private  Wadanoli,  left  for  Warwick 
in  plain  clothes  by  the  next  opportunity,  a  freight  train. 
At  their  destination  they  learned  that  the  two  fugitives 
had  attached  themselves  to  a  party  of  laborers  who  were 
being  sent  as  a  railway  gang  to  Gray  Court,  twelve 
miles  away,  in  a  train  consisting  of  a  box  car  and  a 
locomotive. 

Hurrying  to  the  railway  station,  the  officers  drew 
near  just  in  time  to  see  the  car  rushed  by  at  twenty 
miles  an  hour.  In  its  door  stood  Porcella. 

The  officers  then  asked  the  railway  officials  for 
immediate  transportation  to  Gray  Court,  offering  to 
pay  for  a  special  engine.  The  request  was  refused. 
Two  of  them  next  went  to  a  livery  stable,  as  the  bnly 


ii2  Justice  to  All 

alternative,  while  Trooper  Wadanoli,  guarding  Porcella's 
cousin,  followed  slowly. 

As  Private  Wadanoli  and  his  captive  were  thus  lei- 
surely proceeding  down  the  street,  a  man  rounding  the 
corner  ahead  turned  their  way,  and  they  stood  face  to 
face  with  Salvatore  Garito. 

All  unsuspicious,  Garito  joyfully  celebrated  the 
meeting. 

"Did  you  bring  the  money  for  us  to  go  to  Mexico?" 
he  cried,  with  enthusiasm  embracing  Porcella's  cousin. 

Before  the  other  could  reply,  Private  Wadanoli's 
revolver  was  leveled. 

"Throw  up  your  hands,  Garito!" 

The  murderer  snatched  out  his  stiletto,  but  was 
quickly  handcuffed  and  secured. 

The  other  two  officers,  making  what  speed  they 
could,  were  drawing  down  upon  Gray  Court  when  they 
spied  their  box  car,  still  full  of  laborers,  still  attached  to 
its  locomotive,  standing  in  the  centre  of  a  high  trestle 
bridge.  One  to  the  east,  one  to  the  west,  they  scaled 
the  trestle  at  either  end.  Then,  with  revolvers  in  hand, 
they  advanced  upon  the  car.  Jumping  aboard  one 
covered  the  gang,  while  the  other  handcuffed  Porcella. 
Then  they  explained  themselves  and  their  proceedings 
to  the  amazed  engineer. 

With  their  three  prisoners,  the  three  troopers  took 
the  first  train  out  of  Warwick.  At  Easton,  Pennsyl- 
vania, they  were  obliged  to  detrain,  to  change  for  Read- 
ing. Here  a  great  mob  of  Italians,  headed  by  relatives 
of  the  murderers,  stormed  the  station,  determined  to 
release  the  captives,  and  were  beaten  off  without  resort 
to  extreme  measures  only  with  great  difficulty. 

Then  came  another  significant  incident:  Reading's 
Chief  of  Police  telephoned  an  urgent  plea  that  the 


As  the  Red  Dog  Runs  113 

returning  detail  observe  the  greatest  care  to  mask  their 
home-coming,  as  their  arrival  was  almost  certain  to 
precipitate  three  events:  First,  concerted  attack  by 
the  Reading  Italians  to  release  the  prisoners;  second,  a 
rush  by  the  citizens  to  lynch  them  on  the  spot ;  third, 
a  bloody  clash  between  the  two  sides. 

Due  precautions  were  accordingly  taken.  Both 
murderers  were  safely  jailed,  and  both  were  duly  sen- 
tenced to  the  full  penalty  of  their  crime.  The  chase, 
altogether,  had  lasted  just  six  days  from  the  morning  of 
Private  Kelleher's  murder,  and  the  case  was  so  soundly 
prepared  by  the  State  Police  officers  that  it  withstood 
the  most  determined  efforts  of  a  strong  and  sinister 
backing  to  shake  its  fabric  and  to  secure  the  criminals' 
release. 

8 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  BLACK  HAND 

ONE  of  the  most  threatening  evils  at  this  period 
manifest  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  was  the  thus-far 
unchecked  growth  of  the  "  Black  Hand."  Wherever 
Italian  immigration  had  congregated,  there  its  malign 
influence  was  rife.  The  victims  as  a  rule  were  Italian 
merchants  or  tradesmen,  or  Italian  laborers  known  to 
be  thrifty  and  saving.  But  the  almost  entire  immunity 
that  the  operators  had  enjoyed  in  their  crimes  was 
rapidly  inspiring  them  with  courage  to  range  afield 
after  other  game. 

The  killing  of  Dr.  Kalbfus's  game  wardens  had  in- 
volved Black  Hand  influence,  and  the  Black  Hand  had 
powerfully  shielded  the  criminals  in  their  fight.  The 
secret  spell  that  it  exerted  in  protecting  felons  and  in 
defeating  the  prosecutions  of  the  State  was  felt  at 
every  turn.  Money  it  could  command  in  plenty,  and 
money  it  freely  spent  to  maintain  the  unholy  prestige 
of  its  name. 

The  following  statement,  which  occurs  in  a  Wilkes- 
Barre  despatch  to  the  Philadelphia  North  American, 
February  16,  1907,  gives  an  unexaggerated  hint  of 
conditions  but  too  familiar  elsewhere  in  the  State: 

For  the  last  five  years  the  Black  Hand  Society  has 
virtually  had  a  free  hand  in  the  county.  It  has  systemati- 
cally levied  tribute  upon  hundreds  of  Italians  who  paid 
considerable  sums  for  protection  from  violence,  and  has 

114 


The  Black  Hand  115 

committed  numerous  outrages  upon  others  who  refused  to 
be  blackmailed. 

The  authorities  have  been  almost  helpless.  Until  the 
advent  of  the  State  Constabulary  the  District  Attorney's 
office  had  no  force  to  make  wholesale  arrests,  and,  besides, 
fear  sealed  the  mouths  of  the  victims.  The  fate  of  informers 
was  well  understood,  for  the  society  took  pains  to  impress 
upon  its  victims  that  those  who  gave  evidence  against  any 
member  would  suffer  violent  death. 

On  numerous  occasions,  frightened  Italians  have  in- 
formed the  Police  that  they  have  received  the  usual  threaten- 
ing letters  signed  by  the  Black  Hand,  or  have  been  personally 
threatened ;  but  when  told  they  would  be  required  to  appear 
as  witnesses,  they  wilted,  declared  they  could  not  identify 
anyone ;  that  they  had  not  even  a  suspicion  of  who  the  agents 
of  the  society  were,  and  were  glad  to  get  away  from  the 
authorities  and  go  back  to  their  homes.  Many  have  fled 
from  the  region  to  avoid  the  wrath  of  the  society. 

Even  in  flight  there  was  no  safety.  A  few  months 
ago  an  Italian  who  refused  tribute  fled  with  his  family 
to  Berwick,  and  there  one  morning  was  called  to  his  door 
by  three  men  and  shot  dead.  There  is  no  clue  to  his 
murderers.  Another  who  gave  information  a  year  or  so  ago, 
against  the  organization,  was  shot  dead  late  at  night  at 
Pittston.  Again  there  was  no  clue.  A  third  was  shot, 
beheaded,  and  his  body  thrown  into  a  mine-hole,  near 
Browntown.  .  .  .  There  have  been  scores  of  outrages. 
Houses  have  been  dynamited,  men  have  been  waylaid  and 
wounded,  women  have  been  terrorized,  houses  have  been 
fired  upon  or  set  on  fire,  but  rarely  have  there  been  any 
arrests. 


By  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  as  the 
despatch  truly  said,  the  district  attorney's  office  had 
heretofore  possessed  no  means  for  the  handling  of 
situations  of  such  magnitude.  The  district  attorney, 


n6  Justice  to  All 

under  the  penal  law,  was  charged  only  with  the  duty  of 
representing  the  Commonwealth  in  the  trial  of  criminal 
cases,  and  was  nowhere  given  authority  to  spend  public 
monies  in  the  detection  and  pursuit  of  criminals.  This 
was  a  fruit  of  early  times,  when  the  people  were  assumed 
to  be  self-governing  and  when  each  citizen  was  supposed 
as  a  matter  of  course  to  constitute  himself  the  active 
agent  and  defender  of  the  law.  Under  such  conditions 
the  initiative  of  prosecution  might  logically  be  left  to 
the  individual  citizen.  But  under  the  actual  conditions 
of  the  living  day,  such  a  system  was  wholly  obsolete. 

With  the  coming  of  the  State  Police,  however,  all 
this  was  changed,  and  District  Attorney  Salsburg  of 
Luzerne  County  was  one  of  the  first  of  those  who  had  the 
courage  and  the  loyalty  to  make  use  of  his  chance.  At 
his  request,  early  in  February,  1907,  several  members 
of  Troop  "B"  were  detailed,  in  plain  clothes,  to  in- 
vestigate the  numerous  recent  Black  Hand  outrages  in 
the  vicinity  of  Wilkes-Barre.  The  detail  having 
secured  the  necessary  evidence,  on  February  I4th 
Captain  Page,  Lieutenant  Lumb,  and  a  strong  detach- 
ment from  "B"  Troop  were  sent  to  assist  the  county 
authorities  to  make  the  arrests. 

Twenty-five  men  were  seized  in  one  raid.  Their 
trial  developed  features  of  such  general  importance  that 
the  Federal  Secret  Service  and  that  of  the  New  York 
City  Police  Department  kept  representatives  in  con- 
stant attendance  in  court.  The  inter-operation  of 
Black  Hand  branches  in  Rochester,  Buffalo,  and  New 
York  City  with  those  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  towns 
was  made  clear;  and  the  district  attorney  was  deluged 
on  the  one  hand  by  threatening  letters  from  all  these 
various  points,  and  on  the  other  by  pleas  from  prominent 
Italians  of  origin  as  wide,  begging  him  in  the  name  of 


The  Black  Hand  117 

humanity  to  direct  the  utmost  severity  of  the  law  upon 
his  prisoners. 

"I  am  going  soon  to  leave  this  country  forever," 
wrote  one  well  known  Italian  physician.  "  They  cannot 
do  such  things  in  Italy  any  more,  and  why  should  they 
be  allowed  to  do  them  here.  Because  they  do  not 
molest  the  American  people?" 

"If  the  United  States  authorities  are  not  severe  with 
these  people,  they  will  soon  ask  money  of  the  Americans, 
and  kill  them, "  warned  a  group  of  Philadelphia  Italians, 
also  pleading  that  a  condign  example  be  made  of  their 
tormentors. 

An  example  was  made,  and  one  sufficiently  severe  to 
discourage  the  Black  Hand  industry  in  Luzerne  County 
for  a  considerable  period  to  come. 

Then  the  State  Police  declared  war  upon  the  society 
throughout  the  Commonwealth.  They  attacked  the 
evil  wherever  it  was  found,  first  going  among  the 
Italians  in  plain  clothes  and  securing,  at  first  hand, 
evidence  that  it  was  practically  impossible  to  induce 
the  terrorized  victims  to  contribute;  then,  with  the 
county  officers,  swooping  down  and  capturing  whole 
bands  at  a  time. 

The  work,  as  a  pronounced  feature,  ran  through  the 
entire  summer  and  autumn.  On  May  5th,  for  example, 
a  "D  "  Troop  detail,  advised  by  their  own  earlier  detec- 
tive work,  descended  upon  a  house  in  Barnesboro, 
Cambria  County,  where  they  knew  that  a  Black  Hand 
meeting  was  in  progress,  and  at  one  stroke  captured  the 
entire  local  association,  fourteen  men,  all  of  whom  were 
tried  and  duly  convicted. 

Encouraged  by  the  vigor  of  their  new  allies,  the 
district  attorneys  of  the  worst-afflicted  sections  aroused 
to  determined  effort,  and  were  again  spurred  on  by  a 


n8  Justice  to  All 

swelling  list  of  crime  which,  even  in  so  rural  a  county 
as  Montgomery  in  one  week  comprised  incendiarism, 
dynamiting,  kidnapping,  white  slave  horrors,  black- 
mail, and  extortion.  The  nature  of  the  task  demanded 
first,  shrewd  detective  work;  and  then,  quick  concerted 
action  in  force.  Again  and  again,  in  all  parts  of  the 
State,  the  Force  used  these  tactics  with  brilliant  effect. 
Occasionally,  also,  details  were  openly  sent  into  the 
heart  of  a  Black  Hand  district  to  clear  up  conditions 
without  preliminary  disguise.  By  midsummer,  the 
fame  of  work  achieved  was  contributing  to  the  effective- 
ness of  this  method.  On  August  8th,  at  the  request 
of  the  district  attorney  of  Lawrence  County,  First 
Sergeant  Marsh  and  eight  privates  of  Troop  "D"  were 
sent  to  Hillville,  as  a  substation,  to  assist  the  local 
authorities  in  suppressing  Black  Hand  villainies.  On 
September  23d,  the  detail  was  withdrawn.  In  the 
interval  it  had  captured  twenty-three  members  of  the 
Black  Hand  Society,  all  of  whom  were  convicted  and 
sentenced  to  long  prison  terms,  and  it  had  effected  in  the 
life  of  the  town  a  change  thus  contemporaneously 
described  in  the  Pittsburgh  Dispatch: 

Hillville  no  longer  deserves  the  loathsome  designation 
of  "Helltown."  Things  have  changed  in  the  great  lime- 
stone quarry  settlement.  Since  the  arrival  of  the  State 
Police  the  Italians  .  .  .  doff  their  hats  as  they  canter  by. 
Old  residents  sit  out  on  their  porches  these  fine  evenings  and 
listen  to  the  singing  and  the  mandolins  and  guitars  .  .  . 
and  say  it  reminds  them  of  Hillville  years  ago,  before  the 
Black  Hand  was  heard  of  there.  Then,  after  the  day's 
work  was  over,  every  man  devoted  himself  to  the  home 
pleasures,  if  he  had  a  home  and  family,  or  else  his  thoughts 
turned  back  to  sunny  Italy  where  the  prospective  sharer 
of  his  home  was  waiting  till  he  was  able  to  bring  her  over. 


The  Black  Hand  119 

But  when  the  terrible  Black  Hand  agents  reached  the  village 
they  changed  all  that.  Young  men  who  were  saving 
money  to  send  back  for  the  sweetheart  soon  learned  to 
keep  secret  their  ambitions.  Songs  in  the  summer  evenings 
ended,  and  homes  over  which  the  Black  Hand  held  the 
menacing  stiletto  or  the  smoking  revolver  never  contained 
a  light,  for  fear  of  attack  by  night.  But  all  these  terrors 
have  now  suddenly  faded  away;  the  arrest  of  the  leaders  and 
members  of  the  Black  Hand,  and  the  flight  of  more  than  a 
hundred  suspicious  characters,  have  almost  completely 
rid  the  community  of  the  undesirable  element,  and  the 
several 'thousand  peace-loving  Italians  are  assisting  in  the 
cleaning  up  in  every  possible  way.  .  .  . 

In  so  far  as  was  feasible,  the  Superintendent  of  the 
State  Police  continued  to  honor  every  appeal  for  aid 
against  this  most  impudent  evil.  And  although  the 
snake  is  one  that  revives  unless  steadily  scotched,  the 
result  from  the  start  was  spectacular  throughout 
the  State. 

In  his  summary  of  the  report  for  the  year  1907,  the 
Superintendent  states  that  the  Force  has  traveled 
332,094  miles,  has  visited  886  different  towns  or  bor- 
oughs, in  51  counties,  and  has  made  4388  arrests  for 
54  different  sorts  of  crime  or  misdemeanor.  Of  these 
arrests,  3049  had  already  resulted  in  conviction,  while 
885  still  awaited  trial.  Fees  and  costs  collected  by  the 
counties  from  the  arrests  amounted  to  $21,015.85. 

In  the  report  of  the  following  year,  1908,  it  is  shown 
that  the  Force,  constantly  on  active  duty,  has  patrolled 
during  the  twelvemonth  424,415  miles  and  has  visited 
1683  towns  or  boroughs,  in  54  counties.  It  has  made 
during  the  period  5028  arrests  for  71  different  sorts  of 
crime  or  misdemeanor.  Of  these  arrests,  3869  had 
already  resulted  in  conviction,  while  408  yet  awaited 


120  Justice  to  All 

trial.  Fees  and  costs  collected  by  the  counties  from 
these  arrests  amounted  to  $27,900.79. 

During  this  year  of  1908,  as  the  above-quoted  figures 
indicate,  the  work  of  the  Force  continued  to  increase  in 
variety.  The  people  themselves,  as  well  as  the  county 
officers,  were  growing  into  a  greater  and  greater  realiza- 
tion of  the  value  and  elasticity  of  the  new  Department, 
whose  annals  in  consequence  became  more  and  more 
a  sort  of  index  of  human  emergencies.  Calls  for  help 
poured  into  the  Department,  many  each  day,  and 
were  each  day  answered,  as  far  as  the  size  of  the  Force 
permitted. 

The  official  reports  of  the  Troop  Captains,  reduced 
to  bare  outlines  as  they  are,  read  like  the  scenarios  of 
the  most  thrilling  moving  picture  episodes.  The 
Superintendent's  annual  extracts  from  these  reports, 
still  farther  reduced  to  the  military  minimum,  are  those 
scenarios  skeletonized  almost  to  the  vanishing  point. 
For  example,  Captain  Groome's  first  entry  of  the  year 
1908  runs  thus: 

January  7th.  Privates  J.  Ryan  and  Carlson  of  Troop 
"B  "  were  detailed  to  search  for  a  lunatic  who  had  escaped 
from  his  keepers  while  being  taken  to  the  Asylum  in  Dan- 
ville. His  keepers,  knowing  he  was  a  dangerous  lunatic, 
made  no  effort  to  recapture  him,  but  returned  to  their 
homes.  After  searching  all  night  in  a  blinding  snowstorm, 
Ryan  and  Carlson  captured  him  and  turned  him  over  to  the 
proper  authorities. 

So  much  for  the  official  reduction.  A  little  more 
in  particular,  the  facts  are  these: 

Troopers  Ryan  and  Carlson,  detailed  to  the  work 
before  which  the  professional  keepers'  nerve  had  failed, 
set  out  with  minds  the  more  determined  by  the  fact 


The  Black  Hand  121 

that  the  escaped  man  was  homicidal  in  his  madness 
and  that  the  farmers'  women  and  children  in  his  track 
were  injthe  gravest  danger  of  death. 

"I'll  get  that  man  if  it  takes  me  a  month,"  said 
Ryan  to  his  comrade,  as  they  picked  up  the  trail. 

"Right,"  rejoined  Carlson.  "No  rest  for  us  till  we 
put  him  where  he  belongs,  poor  chap." 

All  that  night,  the  two  men  rode.  It  was  bitter, 
deadly  cold,  and  a  stifling  snow  choked  the  air, — evil 
weather  for  man  or  beast.  Asking  at  intervals  at  the 
scattered  houses  along  the  roads,  the  troopers  made  sure 
that  their  hunt  was  still  ahead,  and  still  pushed  on. 
The  roads  grew  worse  and  worse,  the  cross-ways  easier 
to  miss  in  the  banking  drifts  and  the  smother.  Now 
and  again,  the  sturdy  little  horses,  used  though  they 
were  co  feats  of  endurance,  stopped  short  in  their  tracks 
with  hanging  heads.  Then  the  two  men  would  breathe 
them  a  bit,  limber  their  own  stiff  legs — and  so  mount 
again  and  forge  into  the  trail.  Sometime  in  the  small 
hours  the  snow  ceased,  but  the  bitter  wind  kept  up 
and  the  cold  increased.  And  then,  about  six  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  two  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
somewhere  back  in  the  storm  and  darkness  they  had 
passed  their  mark. 

Facing  about,  they  patiently  retraced  their  path, 
and  finally  sighted  the  trail  of  a  man.  He  had  left  the 
road,  scaled  a  high  rail  fence,  and  made  off  across  a 
broad  field  to  timbered  land  beyond.  The  good  little 
horses,  spent  though  they  were,  took  the  fence  in  their 
own  style,  and  fifteen  minutes  later  the  two  troopers, 
in  the  high  timber,  were  pointing  out  to  each  other  the 
remarkable  phenomenon  of  a  great  log  from  whose 
hollow  heart  protruded  a  pair  of  boots. 

But  the  quick  ear  of  the  lunatic  had  caught  the 


122  Justice  to  All 

noise  of  approach.  Wriggling  out  of  his  wood-skin  with 
the  swiftness  of  an  eel,  he  darted  toward  a  tall  oak  and 
in  an  instant  was  threatening  from  its  topmost  branches. 

"I'm  goin'  up,"  said  Ryan,  beginning  to  toss  off 
his  impedimenta. 

"Oh,  Ryan,  let  me!"  pleaded  Carlson.  "Let  me, 
Ryan.  You  know  it's  my  turn !" 

"You'll  stop  where  you  are,  lad.  The  job  is  mine," 
said  Ryan,  taking  a  base  advantage  of  his  bit  of  seniority. 
And  up  he  swarmed. 

In  the  gray  of  the  morning,  high  in  the  swaying  tree- 
top,  mile  on  mile  from  nowhere  out  in  the  snow,  they 
wrestled  together,  those  two,  Ryan  grappling  the 
lunatic,  vainly  trying  to  haul  him  down,  the  lunatic 
hammering,  biting,  tearing  at  Ryan,  with  his  lunatic's 
strength  holding  his  own.  Carlson,  frantic,  dancing 
on  tiptoe  down  below  in  the  rain  of  falling  branches, 
with  his  eyes  full  of  chips  of  bark,  could  get  not  so 
much  as  a  finger  in  the  fray.  And  Ryan,  making  no 
headway,  was  at  his  wits'  end. 

But  that  symptom  with  a  "State  Wildcat"  is  a  good 
sign,  betokening  the  birth  of  a  new  supply  of  wit.  Is 
it  not  written  in  the  Force's  decalogue:  "Once you 
start  for  a  man  you  must  get  him"? 

"Look  out  below!"  suddenly  sang  out  Ryan.  "My 
friend  here  and  I  will  be  joinin'  you!"  And  with  that, 
wrapping  the  lunatic  in  a  boa's  embrace,  he  cast  him- 
self with  all  his  weight  loose  into  mid-air. 

Down  they  came,  with  a  concussion  that  must  have 
utterly  finished  anything  but  a  lunatic  or  a  "State 
Wildcat."  But  it  never  concerned  either  one  of  them. 
Ryan  hung  to  the  maniac  like  the  "broncho-buster" 
that  he  was,  while  the  maniac  rolled  him  over  and  over, 
biting,  tearing,  wrenching,  in  the  deep  snow. 


The  Black  Hand  123 

At  last  came  an  instant  when  Carlson,  hovering  for 
his  chance,  could  pitch  in.  Then  they  snapped  the 
handcuffs  on  the  madman,  loaded  him  in  front  of  one  of 
the  mounts,  and  conveyed  him  without  further  incident 
to  town — "turning  him  over,"  as  Captain  Groome  in- 
formingly  observed  "to  the  proper  authorities." 

Bearing  in  mind  this  typical  relation  of  the  incidents 
as  reported  by  the  Superintendent  to  the  facts  just  a 
little  more  fully  viewed,  one  looks  with  the  more  specu- 
lation at  the  dry  little  entries  in  the  report.  Among 
them,  selecting  at  random,  is  this: 

August  I4th.  Private  R.  A.  Tipton  of  Troop  "B" 
arrested  Alderman  M.  A.  Sullivan  of  Wilkes-Barre,  on  the 
charge  of  "Extortion,"  and  Constable  Patrick  McDonald 
on  the  charge  of  "Conspiracy  and  Extortion."  .  .  . 
Alderman  Sullivan  and  Constable  McDonald  were  tried, 
convicted,  and  sentenced  to  terms  of  imprisonment  in  the 
Eastern  Penitentiary.  These  arrests  and  convictions  were 
most  important,  for  although  the  unlawful  methods  of 
these  two  County  officers  were  well  known  in  the  vicinity 
in  which  they  lived,  owing  to  strong  political  influence  the 
local  authorities  had  been  unable  to  secure  convictions. 


On  August  1 7th,  to  paraphrase  the  record  slightly, 
Private  Walter  Snyder  of  "C"  Troop,  while  riding  his 
regular  patrol  with  his  eyes  open,  noticed  a  little  feather 
of  smoke  curling  up  from  the  centre  of  a  great  corn- 
field, where  no  smoke  should  be.  Dismounting,  and 
stealing  quietly  in  through  the  crop,  he  found  two 
worthies  busily  engaged  in  melting  a  large  quantity  of 
brass  railway  journals,  stamped  with  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Railway's  name.  Private  Snyder  promptly 
arrested  the  two,  George  Fox  and  Robert  Wanamaker 


124  Justice  to  All 

by  name,  and  both  were  duly  sentenced  to  the  Peni- 
tentiary. 

The  value  of  patrol  service  was  manifest  in  this 
last  incident  in  several  ways.  The  jacking  up  of  the 
cars  and  the  stealing  of  the  journals,  which  had  been 
going  on  for  some  time,  might  easily  have  caused  a 
train  wreck.  Also,  through  this  arrest,  the  State  Police 
discovered  a  large  store  of  stolen  goods  and  returned 
them  to  their  owners;  identified  and  broke  up  a  gang 
of  thieves  that  had  been  robbing  the  freight  cars  for 
years;  and  rid  the  community  of  a  considerable  group 
of  threatening  and  unwholesome  denizens.  And  all 
because  a  lynx  on  horseback  saw  a  feather  of  smoke. 

Private  Maughan  of  "B  "  Troop,  patrol-riding  only  a 
few  days  later,  met  a  very  different  emergency.  In 
passing  by  Harvey's  Lake  he  saw  a  woman  fall  from  a 
steamboat  landing  into  the  deep  water.  He  galloped 
to  the  spot,  dove,  found  the  woman  down  among  the 
bottom  tangle,  and  swam  ashore  with  her,  saving  her  life. 

Then  again,  from  the  beginning  of  September  until 
winter  set  in,  came  a  rapid  succession  of  forest  fire 
fighting.  This  always  hard  and  breathless  work  had 
sometimes  for  its  object  the  saving  of  a  hotel,  sometimes 
the  protection  of  an  important  tract,  sometimes  the 
rescue  of  a  town.  Never  did  the  detail  fail  to  effect  its 
purpose. 

Two  days  before  Christmas,  "B"  Troop's  barracks, 
at  Wyoming,  was  totally  destroyed  by  fire  caused  by 
defective  flues.  "Through  the  unceasing  efforts  of 
the  members  of  the  Troop,"  runs  the  Superintendent's 
note,  "  the  stables  and  all  the  horses  and  horse  equipment 
were  saved  and  a  considerable  amount  of  State  property 
was  rescued  from  the  burning  barracks,  but  the  men  lost 
all  their  personal  belongings.11 


The  Black  Hand  125 

In  closing  his  report  for  the  year  1908,  the  Super- 
intendent makes  the  following  suggestions: 

I  would  strongly  recommend  that  the  Force  be  in- 
creased by  at  least  two  Troops,  as  it  is  impossible  with  the 
present  Force  either  to  cover  the  territory  now  absolutely 
without  protection  or  to  supply  the  details  asked  for  from  all 
parts  of  the  State.  ...  I  would  also  recommend  an  increase 
in  the  pay  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Force,  and  an  extra 
service  pay  for  the  second  and  third  enlistment. 

The  men  who  were  daily  risking  their  lives  in  a 
service  far  more  constantly  hazardous  than  that  of 
men  at  war — the  men  who  were  freely  giving  their  lives 
whenever  the  protection  of  the  people  required  it — 
these  men  were  receiving  the  smallest  pay  of  any 
mounted  police  in  the  country.  Pennsylvania  was 
giving  her  troopers  the  pay  of  common  unskilled 
laborers — of  ditch-diggers  and  the  like.  When  they 
were  maimed  in  her  service,  she  let  them  shift  as  best 
they  might.  When  they  were  slain,  their  wives, 
mothers,  or  children  might  starve,  for  all  the  Common- 
wealth concerned  herself.  And  yet,  the  Harrisburg 
Telegraph  voiced  only  the  general  intelligence  when  it 
said  of  the  desired  increase  of  the  Force: 

"No  investment  the  State  can  make  will  pay  larger 
dividends  in  the  maintenance  of  order  and  the  protec- 
tion of  life  and  property." 


CHAPTER  X 


"A  LYING  TONGUE  IS  BUT  FOR  A  MOMENT" 


CAPTAIN  GROOME'S  official  report  for  the  year  1909 
showed  a  total  of  3799  arrests  made  for  86  different 
sorts  of  crime.  These  arrests  were  followed  by  approxi- 
mately 90%  of  convictions.  Running  down  the 
diverse  list  the  eye  catches  items  such  as  these:  14 
arrests  for  arson,  35  for  attempts  to  kill,  21  for  murder, 
ii  for  attempts  to  rape,  17  for  rape,  99  for  burglary, 
78  for  carrying  concealed  deadly  weapons,  32  for  cruelty 
to  animals,  45  for  desertion  and  non-support,  20  for 
keeping  a  disorderly  house,  4  for  embezzlement,  6  for 
forgery,  73  for  fraud  and  false  pretenses,  96  for  trespass, 
60  for  gambling,  45  for  highway  robbery,  354  for  lar- 
ceny, 84  for  malicious  mischief,  18  for  receiving  stolen 
goods,  57  for  violation  of  liquor  laws,  408  for  drunken- 
ness and  disorderly  conduct. 

In  considering  this,  the  evidence  of  things  seen, 
account  should  never  be  lost  either  of  the  great  and 
important  mass  of  State  Police  work  which  does  not 
necessarily  contemplate  the  making  of  arrests,  nor  of 
that  finest  of  all  the  values  of  the  Force,  its  action  in 
producing  orderly  conditions  and  a  general  respect  for 
law  precluding  occasion  for  police  intervention.  A 
significant  testimony  to  the  steady  and  logical  progress 
of  this  inhibitive  tendency  is  offered  by  the  arrest 
totals  themselves,  through  succeeding  years.  In  1907, 
the  first  full  year  of  the  service,  the  total  number  of 

126 


A  Lying  Tongue  Is  but  for  a  Moment  127 

arrests  made,  as  has  already  been  stated,  was  4388. 
In  1908,  the  total  reached  5028.  In  the  former  year 
the  Force  was  proving  itself — showing  its  mettle 
to  the  State, —  while  on  the  other  hand  the  lawless  ele- 
ment in  the  State  was  testing  the  efficiency  and  earnest- 
ness of  the  Force.  In  1908,  patrols  were  extended,  a 
larger  territory  was  covered,  more  lawless  elements 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  new  arm  of  the  law  and 
by  experiment  satisfied  their  several  doubts  as  to  its 
quality.  Therefore  the  number  of  arrests  rose.  In 
1909,  the  Force  traveled  farther  than  in  any  previous 
year;  nevertheless,  the  total  of  arrests  diminished,  for 
where  the  State  Police  went  its  well-earned  name  now 
flew  before,  and  in  greater  and  greater  degree  order 
sprang  up  to  meet  it  as  it  came. 

During  the  earlier  months  of  1909  came  the  usual 
run  of  varied  service — of  cross-country,  night  and 
day  hunts  after  criminals,  their  apprehension  and 
proper  disposal;  of  gangs  of  professional  burglars 
ferrettcd  out,  caught  and  broken  up;  of  post-office 
robbers  and  horse  thieves  followed,  arrested,  and  their 
booty  restored  to  the  rightful  owners;  of  murderers 
hunted  down  and  their  crime  proved  upon  them.  And 
all  was  accomplished  with  a  speed  and  accuracy  almost 
inconceivable  to  the  unaccustomed  populace. 

In  other  days  one  of  the  most  exasperating  phe- 
nomena of  the  sufferings  of  farmers  and  dwellers  in  all 
isolated  places,  under  the  attacks  of  vagrants  and  evil- 
doers of  all  sorts,  had  been  the  victims'  well-grounded 
fear  either  to  pursue  the  malefactors  or  to  inform  against 
them,  lest  they  turn  and  revenge  themselves  in  worse 
mischief.  Revenge  had  so  often  been  visited  upon  the 
victim  who  had  ventured  an  appeal  to  the  law,  that  such 
appeals  were  but  rarely  risked,  the  belief  standing  that 


128  Justice  to  All 

silent  endurance  was  the  only  safe  alternative  to  the 
shotgun  behind  the  door.  From  this  fact  it  is  easy  to 
picture  the  relief  that  came  through  incidents  like  that 
consequent  upon  the  report  to  the  Department  by 
Otto  Carson  of  Sandsville  of  the  malicious  burning 
of  his  barn  with  eight  head  of  cattle  therein. 

Two  members  of  "B  "  Troop  were  at  once  detailed  to 
work  up  this  case.  They  quickly  traced  the  crime, 
found  and  arrested  the  guilty  man,  and  presented 
the  evidence  in  court.  The  prisoner  was  promptly 
sentenced  to  seven  years'  solitary  confinement  at  hard 
labor  in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  the  country  was 
rid  of  his  dangerous  presence,  the  criminally-minded 
at  large  gained  a  salutary  warning  from  his  fate,  and 
Otto  Carson  himself,  without  danger  and  without  costs, 
at  last  got  the  rights  of  his  citizenship  and  the  worth 
of  his  taxes  in  a  due  enjoyment  of  protection  under  the 
law. 

It  was  already  some  time  since  the  Fanners'  Protec- 
tive Association  of  Kecksburg,  in  the  western  part  of 
the  State,  had  chosen  as  head  of  their  league  the  officer 
in  charge  of  the  State  Police  substation  in  that  locality, 
in  order  that  their  resources  might  be  better  directed 
to  serve  their  needs.  In  a  word,  the  farmers'  minds  in  all 
directions  had  been  clarified  of  their  original  doubts 
as  to  the  value  of  the  Force,  and  they  were  now  ear- 
nestly competing  to  share  its  benefits. 

Said  the  Harrisburg  Telegraph,  March  10,  1909: 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  work  of  the  State  Police  has 
been  so  effective  that  communities  which  at  first  resented 
their  activities  are  now  deluging  the  Department  with  the 
request  for  the  assignment  of  details  of  police.  When  the 
assignments  were  being  made  up  last  fall  for  the  winter 


A  Lying  Tongue  Is  but  for  a  Moment  129 

distribution  of  the  Force,  the  requests  were  far  in  excess  of 
the  ability  of  the  Department  to  supply  with  its  two  hundred 
men.  ...  By  all  means  let  the  Force  be  enlarged. 

Where  substation  details  actually  were  sent,  the 
reaction  of  relief  was  quickly  evidenced  in  the  local 
press.  The  Burgettstown  Herald  rejoiced  thus: 

Burgettstown  and  the  vicinity  are  well  supplied  with 
police  protection  now,  four  members  of  the  State  Police 
being  stationed  here.  .  .  .  The  men  are  a  gentlemanly  lot 
of  fellows  and  their  every  movement  indicates  that  they 
mean  business.  ...  At  any  time  in  the  day  or  night  a  call 
is  sent  in,  one  or  as  many  as  are  needed  respond. 

The  New  Bethlehem  (Clarion  County)  Vindicator, 
in  congratulating  the  community  on  its  success  in 
securing  a  detail  of  troopers,  points  out  with  satis- 
faction that  "  farmers  are  entitled  to  their  services  just 
the  same  as  residents  of  towns, "  and  adds,  not  without 
an  almost  pathetic  reminiscent  note: 

Their  duties  are,  to  prevent  any  violation  of  the  State 
law,  and  they  go  wherever  they  are  requested  to  go.  .  .  .  There 
is  general  approval  voiced  that  these  young  men  are  sta- 
tioned here. 

Nevertheless,  when  in  the  legislative  session  in  1909, 
Governor  Stuart,  pursuant  to  the  recommendation 
contained  in  his  message,  caused  the  introduction  of 
a  bill  to  enlarge  the  Force  to  six  troops  and  to  increase 
the  pay  to  something  reasonably  related  to  the  work 
required,  the  bill  was  defeated  on  the  floor  of  the  House. 
This  was  accomplished  by  the  efforts  of  the  leaders 
of  the  State  Federation  of  Labor,  who  furthermore 
introduced  a  bill  to  repeal  the  State  Police  Act.  The 
repealer,  however,  was  killed  in  committee. 

9 


130  Justice  to  All 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  remark,  running 
through  the  daily  records  of  calls  for  aid  registered  in 
the  offices  of  the  four  Troops,  the  constantly  growing 
number  of  appeals  from  union  men  and  their  households. 
Not  a  day  passed  in  any  barracks,  or  in  any  substation 
in  a  community  containing  a  union  labor  element, 
without  bringing  its  stout  budget  of  demands  from  this 
source.  Houses  saved  from  burning,  pay-envelopes 
saved  from  footpads,  stolen  goods  recovered  and 
returned,  lost  children  traced  and  found,  working 
girls  rescued  from  assailants,  gangs  of  prey  broken  up 
and  removed,  communities  made  safe  to  live  in, — such 
services  as  these  innumerably  multiplied  had  made  the 
miner,  the  steel  worker,  the  laborer  in  general,  individu- 
ally and  of  his  own  sane  mind,  see  the  State's  Police 
in  its  true  light,  as  his  own  police,  his  own  best  protector. 
Repeated  experience  in  time  of  strike,  moreover,  had 
taught  him  that  the  State  Police  was  then  his  sure, 
invincible,  and  only  defense  against  unlawful  aggressions 
by  the  party  of  the  other  side.  Even  in  bodies,  the 
union  men  were  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  this  powerful 
shield,  as  when,  in  1909,  the  United  Mine  Workers' 
Union  of  Exeter  requested  a  detail  of  two  State  Police- 
men to  preserve  order  during  their  Fourth  of  July 
celebration,  which  request  was  duly  granted. 

But  the  purposes  of  the  professional  agitator  are 
served  neither  by  the  exercise  and  growth  of  individual 
intelligence  on  the  part  of  his  public  nor  by  its  achieve- 
ment of  sound  and  solid  place  in  the  community.  There- 
fore he  still  spurred  on  the  animal  rage  of  the  ignorant, 
still  whipped  together  the  higher  class  that  he  could  yet 
deceive,  still  scared  the  timorous  assemblyman  by  his 
wild  and  heady  noise.  His  brotherhood  to  his  "broth- 
ers" is  the  brotherhood  of  the  stock-yard  hireling  to  the 


A  Lying  Tongue  Is  but  for  a  Moment  131 

herd,  when  with  yells  and  ravings  he  drives  it,  confused 
and  frightened,  into  the  pen.  His  leadership  is  the  leader- 
ship of  the  jackal  chief,  howling  without  the  gates.  Let 
his  public  once  waken  to  the  meaning  of  the  fact  that 
they  are  neither  cattle  nor  jackals,  but  men  of  human 
minds  endowed  with  all  the  powers  of  citizenship,  soberly 
confronting  the  great  problems  of  the  world — and  they 
will  no  longer  obey  the  hypnotic  clamor  of  a  venal 
herdsman,  or  follow  any  beast  of  prey  that  he  may 
gnaw  in  idleness  on  their  hard-earned  store.  That 
very  day  they  will  demand  the  loftiest-minded,  most 
highly-trained,  most  constructive  of  statesmen-leaders. 
That  day  they  will  achieve  their  end  and  that  day  the 
agitator's  occupation  is  gone. 

The  hideous  story  of  McKee's  Rocks  need  not  be 
fully  detailed  here.  For  pure  bestial  madness,  it  could 
scarcely  be  surpassed.  The  actual  hands  that  perpe- 
trated the  deeds  of  those  bloody  days  that  culminated 
in  the  slaughter  of  the  22d  of  August  were  hands  of 
beings  too  untaught  for  blame.  But  those  to  whom 
the  blame  belongs — those  who  from  their  safe  shelter 
sent  out  the  dastard  words  that  fired  that  train — those 
have  a  reckoning  to  meet  from  which  no  pit  is  deep 
enough  to  shelter  them. 

Homicidal  rioting  had  been  a  feature  almost  from 
the  start,  in  the  Pressed  Steel  Car  strike  at  Schoenville, 
near  Pittsburgh.  On  July  14,  1909,  the  sheriff  had 
pleaded  his  inability  to  protect  life  and  property,  and 
had  begged  for  a  State  Police  detail.  But  here  again 
a  weak  and  trimming  policy  on  the  part  of  the  local 
authorities  had  tied  the  hands  and  paralyzed  the 
effectiveness  of  the  detachment,  and  numerous  smaller 
catastrophes  had  in  consequence  preceded  the  terrible 
scene  of  the  fatal  Sunday. 


132  Justice  to  All 

There  had  been,  for  example,  a  determined  and  sus- 
tained effort  to  destroy  the  great  searchlight  on  the  top 
of  the  car  company's  plant,  whose  sweeping  rays  made 
works  of  darkness  difficult.  Great  quantities  of  am- 
munition were  wasted  by  the  rioters  in  the  attempt 
to  shoot  away  that  light.  Finally  the  arrival  was 
reported  of  a  noted  long-distance  shot  brought  from 
afar  for  this  special  business.  On  Sunday  morning, 
August  22d,  shortly  after  midnight,  the  light  was 
struck  and  quenched.  Within  two  hours  from  the 
moment  that  darkness  fell,  those  within  the  plant  were 
panic-stricken  by  an  explosion  under  the  walls,  fortu- 
nately premature.  Thanks  to  that  warning,  a  search 
was  instituted.  And  this  search  revealed  enough 
nitro-glycerine,  scattered  along  the  outer  walls  of  the 
plant,  to  have  wrecked  not  only  the  plant  itself  but 
the  whole  town  of  McKee's  Rocks  as  well,  had  the 
design  of  those  who  placed  it  there  been  accomplished. 
Hundreds  of  lives  must  have  been  lost,  hundreds  of 
men,  women,  and  children  maimed,  all  their  homes 
destroyed,  and  the  entire  plant,  that  meant  to  the 
survivors  their  ultimate  means  of  livelihood,  must  have 
been  wiped  out  of  existence  in  a  moment's  catastrophe, 
had  the  plan  of  the  mob  succeeded. 

Gangs  of  foreign  women,  blood-mad,  armed  with 
bombs,  went  raging  and  destroying  through  the  streets. 
Step  by  step,  encouraged  by  the  extraordinary  conduct 
of  the  authorities,  the  madness  grew.  On  Sunday 
night,  the  report  was  cunningly  circulated  that  strike 
breakers  would  be  brought  from  Pittsburgh  to  the  plant. 
With  this  message,  men  went  hurrying  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  presently  a  mob  of  several  thousand  strong 
had  congregated  at  the  bridge  to  hold  up  the  incoming 
trolley  cars.  Soon  came  a  car  in  which  was  found  a 


A  Lying  Tongue  Is  but  for  a  Moment  133 

deputy  sheriff,  Exler  by  name.  By  this  time  the 
temper  of  the  people  demanded  blood,  no  matter 
whose.  So,  as  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger  editorially 
rehearsed: 

Exler  was  dragged  from  the  platform  and  terribly  beaten 
by  the  infuriated  mob,  which  completely  lost  all  semblance 
of  sanity.  After  he  had  been  kicked  and  jumped  upon  and 
finally  shot  by  way  of  parting  salute,  he  was  taken  in  dying 
condition  to  a  physician's  office.  The  mob  followed  to  learn 
the  sequel,  and  when  at  last  the  word  was  sent  out  that  he 
was  actually  dead,  the  mob  sent  up  a  tremendous  shout  of 
delight  and  joy. 

"The  point  to  which  it  is  pertinent  to  call  atten- 
tion, "  adds  the  Ledger,  "is  that  it  is  not  good  to  hear  that 
kind  of  shout  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.11 

Rushing  back  to  the  trolley  line,  the  crowd,  now 
amply  armed  and  munitioned,  and  numbering  at  least 
three  thousand  men,  witnessed  the  arrival  of  a  car 
in  which  were  five  State  Policemen,  Privates  Williams, 
Smith,  O'Donnell,  Kitch,  and  Jones,  returning  in 
civilian  clothes  from  leave.  Instantly  they  swarmed 
across  the  tracks  and  enveloped  the  car.  The  troopers 
had  not  the  faintest  chance  of  their  lives;  nevertheless, 
armed  only  with  their  revolvers,  they  made  what 
resistance  they  could.  Private  Williams  was  killed 
in  the  first  volley.  Private  Kitch,  seizing  his  comrade's 
revolver,  stood  over  his  body,  in  a  gallant  attempt  to 
defend  it  from  abuse,  firing  with  both  hands. 

The  remaining  three  men  [says  Captain  Groome]  held 
the  mob  off  as  long  as  their  ammunition  lasted,  but 
found  it  impossible  to  fight  their  way  out  of  the  car.  As 
soon  as  the  ammunition  was  exhausted,  the  mob  rushed  the 
car  and  beat  the  men  down  with  clubs  and  rocks,  and  when 


134  Justice  to  All 

the  balance  of  the  Troop  arrived,  a  few  minutes  later,  they 
found  the  dead  body  of  Williams,  who  had  been  robbed  and 
stripped  of  everything,  O'Donnell  with  a  fractured  skull, 
Smith  shot  through  both  legs  and  so  badly  beaten  that  he 
died  the  following  day  at  the  hospital,  Kitch  shot  through 
the  right  hand,  and  Jones  unconscious  from  being  clubbed 
and  beaten.  He  also  had  been  robbed  and  stripped  of  all 
his  clothes. 

As  that  little  body  of  horsemen,  "the  balance  of 
the  Troop, "  bore  down  at  a  gallop,  carbines  drawn,  the 
mob,  as  always,  broke  and  ran.  And  "the  balance  of 
the  Troop"  performed  its  duty  that  day. 

The  New  York  Evening  Sun,  of  August  24th,  in  its 
editorial  comment  on  the  affair,  thinks  that  the  talk 
of  the  leaders  proves  that  the  slaughter  at  the  bridge 
was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  ruse  to  draw  the  whole 
of  the  little  State  Police  command  into  a  trap  in  which 
it  could  be  crushed  by  an  overwhelming  force.  If 
that  was  so  it  shows  that  the  leaders  did  not  even  yet 
understand  the  psychology  of  their  mob. 

"It  would  be  difficult  to  match  it  for  ferocity,"  said 
the  Sun,  speaking  not  only  of  the  attack  upon  the 
deputy  sheriff  and  the  five  troopers,  but  also  of  the 
crowd's  subsequent  attempt  to  kill  a  well-known  physi- 
cian for  caring  for  the  wounded  and  then  to  murder  the 
wounded  lying  helpless  in  the  ambulances.  "Though 
the  original  bungling  cannot  be  undone,  the  Constabu- 
lary will  not  be  hampered  from  now  on.  You  cannot 
put  a  stop  to  rioting  by  sprinkling  the  rioters  with  rose- 
water." 

Said  the  Philadelphia  Press,  editorially: 

The  troopers  who  were  shot  down  in  that  onslaught  are 
deserving  the  same  exalted  praise  that  would  be  given  to  the 


A  Lying  Tongue  Is  but  for  a  Moment  135 

soldier  of  his  country  who  died  on  the  battlefield.  .  .  . 
The  State  Constabulary  has  now  become  beyond  any  ques- 
tion the  most  efficient  and  effective  law-preserving  body  in 
America  next  to  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States. 

"Ruffianly  Hungarians  and  Poles, "  as  the  Sun  called 
them,  the  rioters  indeed  were.  Few  of  that  raving 
mob  understood  the  English  language.  Therefore, 
the  tempters  who  spoke  to  them  and  lied  to  them  in  their 
own  tongue  found  the  readier  prey.  And  just  as  the 
bullets  that  they  wildly  fired  were  often  stopped  by  the 
bodies  of  their  mates,  so  their  insensate  rage  recoiled 
upon  themselves.  A  simple,  mercurial  people,  easily 
victimized,  easily  infuriated  to  serve  the  will  of  others, 
they  were  scarcely  guiltier  in  their  fury,  murderous 
though  it  was,  than  the  bull  in  the  ring,  his  flanks  full  of 
barbed  darts,  his  eyes  stung  with  the  taunt  of  red,  is 
guilty  of  the  rage  that  fires  him.  And  not  a  trooper, 
sorely  though  his  own  heart  bled  for  every  mutilating 
stab  inflicted  upon  the  dead  bodies  of  his  mates,  failed 
to  realize  that  the  hands  that  dealt  those  wounds  struck 
in  ignorance  too  deep  to  be  sin.  "Malice  toward  none. 
Justice  to  all,"  ran  their  motto.  With  minds  lifted 
above  anger  or  personality,  steadfast  and  unmoved  they 
pursued  their  work  of  mercy  and  of  right.  No  words 
can  exaggerate  the  high  beauty  of  that  achievement. 

Said  the  Philadelphia  Telegraph  next  day: 

Daylight  changed  conditions  from  a  scene  of  absolute 
lawlessness  to  one  of  tearful  anxiety.  Foreign  women  who 
had  fought  with  a  ferociousness  unequaled  by  their  hus- 
bands, pathetically  implored  information  of  the  authorities 
concerning  a  missing  relative,  probably  either  shot  to  death 
or  mortally  wounded.  Such  requests  were  given  attention 
by  the  State  Police  .  .  .  with  a  tenderness  truly  magnificent. 


136  Justice  to  All 

In  November,  1909,  the  Pennsylvania  State  Federa- 
tion of  Labor  issued  a  call  for  a  special  session,  conven- 
ing in  Harrisburg,  December  9th,  to  plan  the  next  year's 
political  campaign.  Each  union  in  the  State  was 
expected  to  send  two  delegates,  and  the  chief  object 
was  understood  to  be  to  pledge  candidates  for  the 
Legislature  to  the  support  of  a  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the 
Act  creating  the  State  Police  Force. 

This  step  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  Federation  leaders 
was  a  foregone  conclusion;  like  the  little  newspaper 
editor  of  earlier  days,  they  were  "not  in  this  business  for 
their  health" — and  they  catered  to  a  part  of  their 
constituency  that  responded  less  freely  to  spring  water 
than  to  rum.  But  the  reaction  on  the  part  of  certain 
sections  of  their  public  was  not  the  reaction  of  the 
automaton.  When  the  Central  Labor  Union  of  Scran- 
ton,  drawn  from  the  great  eastern  soft  coal  fields,  met 
to  choose  delegates  according  to  the  Federation's 
call,  a  most  interesting  discussion  took  place.  It  was 
thus  reported  in  the  Scranton  Times  of  November  22d: 

William  Flanagan,  an  iron  worker,  was  elected  delegate. 
.  .  .  After  Flanagan  was  elected,  Henry  Zeidler  brought 
up  the  question  of  instructing  the  delegate.  S.  J.  Mc- 
Donald, Dominick  Dempsey,  Mr.  Zeidler,  and  others  urged 
the  central  body  not  to  instruct  its  delegate  to  vote  for 
wiping  out  the  State  Police.  .  .  .  Speaking  of  knowledge 
of  the  situation  based  on  his  experience  in  the  last  two 
legislatures,  Mr.  Dempsey  said: 

"  We  might  just  as  well  try  to  move  the  State  Capitol  at 
one  blow  as  to  curtail  the  powers  of,  or  to  abolish,  the  State 
Police.  The  tendency  is  to  give  them  more  power  than 
they  have  and  the  Governor  and  all  of  his  men  are  strongly 
in  favor  of  the  institution.  It  is  believed  that  the  State 
Police  is  the  best  thing  the  State  has  originated  in  many 


A  Lying  Tongue  Is  but  for  a  Moment  137 

years.  We  should  treat  this  State  Police  question  as  a 
living  question,  and  not  butt  our  heads  against  a  stone 
wall. 

"I  believe  that  labor  would  be  stepping  backward  if  it 
takes  a  stand  against  law  and  order.  I  ask  our  delegates 
not  to  vote  for  the  abolition  of  the  State  Police,  but  to  work 
for  the  preservation  of  the  labor  movement  and  not  for  the 
destruction  of  a  fixed  State  institution." 

In  estimating  the  significance  of  these  words,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  speaker  was  the  same 
Assemblyman  Dempsey  of  Lackawanna  County  who, 
in  the  last  Legislature,  had  violently  attacked  the  State 
Police  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  Such  an  intelligent 
exhibition  of  open  mind  could  not  but  carry  weight. 

Stephen  J.  McDonald,  following  Mr.  Dempsey,  said 
that  the  Central  Labor  Union  of  Scranton  stood  for  law 
and  order,  that  the  State  Police  stood  for  the  same 
thing,  and  that  no  labor  union  should  go  on  record  as 
advocating  the  abolition  of  any  institution  that  upheld 
the  law.  Other  speakers  took  the  same  tone. 

The  Scranton  Tribune,  expressing  its  satisfaction  in 
the  dignified  action  of  the  Central  Labor  Union  in 
refusing  to  instruct  its  delegate  as  the  State  Federation 
leaders  desired,  said: 

It  is  not  often  that  officers  of  the  law  have  to  confront 
strikers  in  battle  in  time  of  labor  trouble.  It  is  the  trouble- 
making  tramp  element  that  usually  appears,  from  no  one 
seems  to  know  where,  when  a  strike  is  on,  that  claims  the 
attention  of  the  officials  who  are  trying  to  preserve  the 
peace.  At  all  of  the  big  strikes  of  the  past,  these  pillaging 
miscreants  have  brought  the  laboring  men  into  disrepute. 
...  In  mentioning  the  deplorable  tragedy  down  in  Luzerne 
County  a  few  years  ago,  when  a  number  of  miners  were 
shot  by  a  sheriff's  posse  consisting  principally  of  green 


138  Justice  to  All 

boys,  it  has  often  been  asserted  that  no  shooting  would 
have  occurred  if  a  squad  of  the  State  Constabulary  had  been 
present.  But  few  if  any  of  the  strikers  who  faced  the 
sheriff  of  Luzerne  County  at  that  time  could  speak  English. 
They  thought  that  the*  man  in  citizen's  clothes  and  his 
followers  had  no  right  to  oppose  them,  and  would  therefore 
pay  no  attention  to  the  sheriff.  If  the  men  had  been  in 
uniform,  their  efforts  to  preserve  order  would  have  been 
respected. 

Said  the  Harrisburg  Patriot,  an  Independent  Demo- 
cratic paper: 

The  Central  Labor  Union  of  Scranton  has  honored 
itself  and  strengthened  the  cause  of  organized  labor  by 
refusing  to  recommend  the  disbandment  of  the  State  Police. 
Whatever  opposition  there  has  been  to  that  excellent 
organization  has  been  mostly  confined  to  the  coal  regions, 
and  has  been  fostered  by  political  demagogues,  for  selfish 
purposes,  among  ignorant  foreigners  who  do  not  understand 
our  laws,  nor  the  spirit  of  our  institutions.  .  .  .  Since 
the  Force  was  first  organized,  designing  men  who  have 
worked  only  with  their  mouths  have  tried  to  make  the 
foreigners  believe  that  the  State  Police  was  formed  to  abuse 
them.  .  .  .  They  are  learning  better. 

The  Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor  would  have 
greatly  multiplied  its  actual  power  had  it  not  at  times 
been  unfortunate  in  its  chief.  At  the  special  session 
convened  at  Harrisburg  on  December  29th,  the  then 
President  Greenawalt  incorporated  in  his  battle-call  the 
following  rotund  phrase: 

"  In  Pennsylvania  a  standing  army,  under  the  name  of 
State  Constabulary,  is  maintained  for  the  purpose  of 
menacing  and  awing  the  working  people  into  a  humiliat- 
ing submission  to  the  unholy  mandates  of  an  unyielding 
plutocracy." 


A  Lying  Tongue  Is  but  for  a  Moment  139 

The  men  who  live  by  the  spreading  of  such  poison 
joined  him  and  were  meekly  followed  by  many  more  who 
dared  not  disobey.  And  so,  betimes  as  always,  the 
Federation  outlined  and  began  next  year's  campaign. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  of  the 
meek  ones  would  have  found  patriotism  and  humanity 
and  courage  enough  to  refuse  to  be  tools  and  to  follow 
the  truth  that  was  in  them  if  they  had  not  in  their 
hearts  well  known  what  Dominick  Dempsey  not  only 
knew  but  was  man  enough  to  utter — "We  might  just 
as  well  try  to  move  the  State  Capitol  at  one  blow  as  to 
curtail  the  powers  of,  or  to  abolish,  the  State  Police." 


CHAPTER  XI 

ISAIAH  WEDGE 

NOT  without  relation  to  the  legislative  warfare  were 
the  workings-out  of  the  Berks-Schuylkill  incident  in  the 
previous  spring. 

"C"  Troop's  barracks,  near  Reading,  although  the 
best  that  could  be  procured  in  the  original  period,  were 
too  small.  Their  space  for  man  and  horse  was  meager 
and  their  grounds  afforded  no  room  for  the  proper  and 
necessary  drill.  Berks,  moreover,  by  three  years' 
steady  patrol,  had  been  brought  so  much  to  order  that 
her  claim  could  no  longer  be  sustained  for  the  services 
of  a  Force  far  from  large  enough  to  patrol  the  whole 
rural  State.  Therefore,  the  Superintendent  determined 
to  remove  "C"  Troop  to  more  suitable  quarters  at 
a  point  of  greater  need. 

Among  the  candidates,  Schuylkill  County  urged  her 
right  by  every  means  in  her  power,  but  her  strongest 
appeal  was  that  which  she  would  most  gladly  veil  from 
view — a  criminal  record  appalling  to  contemplate. 
Schuylkill,  one  of  the  most  supremely  beautiful  sections 
of  a  beautiful  State,  is  a  county  of  fine  farms,  for  many 
generations  handled  like  huge  gardens  by  a  good  old 
population,  the  wise  and  thrifty  "  Pennsylvania  Dutch." 
By  the  rise  of  the  coal  industry,  this  peaceful  region 
suddenly  suffered  an  irruption  of  plague-spots,  the 
imposition  of  a  mushroom  growth  of  foreign  settlements 
ranging  in  size  from  little  hamlets  to  considerable 

140 


Isaiah  Wedge  141 

villages,  The  quality  of  the  immigration  here  deposited 
was  of  the  lowest,  and  its  daily  normal  attitude  toward 
the  world  was  such  as  to  make  talk  of  education  as  the 
most  immediate  means  of  control  sound  like  heartless 
impudence  in  the  unhappy  farmer's  ears.  He  was  not 
too  dull  to  appreciate  that  the  savage  Hun  would  not 
longer  knock  out  the  brains  of  the  farmer's  wife  in 
order  to  cover  tracks  of  crime,  nor  the  mercurial  Italian 
or  Pole  take  the  farmer's  life,  fire  his  barns,  or  steal  his 
goods,  when  they  should  have  been  educated  to  love 
righteousness  more  than  these  things.  And  he  was  more 
than  willing  that  that  education  should  be  sped.  But, 
meantime,  wife,  life,  barn,  and  goods  being  his  in  solid 
fact  and  not  the  hypothetical  and  dusty  tissue  of  a 
remote  uplifter's  morbid  vaporing,  he  had  no  heart  to 
lay  them  as  a  sacrifice  at  the  feet  of  the  invading  hordes. 

The  hordes'  prejudice  in  the  matter  of  coercion, 
their  sensitive  resentment  of  being  asked  to  respect  the 
law  of  the  land,  seemed  to  him  of  distinctly  lesser 
importance  than  the  instant  preservation  of  the  law 
itself — seemed  to  him,  in  fact,  a  cogent  reason  why  they 
should  not  be  indulged.  He  did  not  care  what  the 
newcomers  thought  they  wanted, — he  himself  wanted 
his  peace  by  his  hearth,  he  wanted  security  of  life  and 
goods;  therefore  he  wanted  his  State  Police.  And,  in 
his  solid  Pennsylvania  Dutch  way,  he  drove  his  argu- 
ment successfully  home. 

Berks  County  fought  hard,  when  it  awakened  to  that 
afoot.  Delegation  after  delegation  visited  the  Super- 
intendent to  beg  him  not  to  remove  the  Troop.  The 
first  embassy  from  the  Reading  Board  of  Trade  brought 
back  disappointment.  Even  the  offer  of  a  gift  of  land 
and  to  build  new  barracks  according  to  the  Super- 
intendent's plans  had  been  unavailing.  The  Merchants' 


142  Justice  to  All 

Association  and  the  Agricultural  Society  of  the  county 
sent  fruitless  representations.  On  April  17,  1909,  a 
delegation  from  the  Board  of  Trade  headed  by  its 
officers  again  made  the  journey  to  the  Superintendent's 
office;  but  President  Kuppelman,  on  his  return,  could 
tell  the  Reading  Eagle's  reporter  nothing  more  comfort- 
ing than  this: 

Captain  Groome  Very  courteously  received  the  members 
of  the  Committee,  and  listened  to  all  the  arguments  we  could 
think  of  to  prevail  on  him  to  reconsider  his  decision.  .  .  . 
But  he  said  that  Schuylkill  County  had  very  lawless  ele- 
ments .  .  .  and  he  believed  it  to  be  his  duty  to  furnish  the 
service  to  a  locality  which  is  constantly  menaced  by  violent 
characters,  as  is  Schuylkill.  He  also  reasoned  that  people 
in  other  parts  of  the  State  pay  taxes,  as  well  as  here,  and 
that  they  also  are  entitled  to  this  protection  against  thieves, 
thugs,  and  murderers.  We  finally  made  a  request  for.  a 
detail  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  men,  in  charge  of  a  Lieuten- 
ant, the  Board  of  Trade  pledging  its  responsibility  for  the 
payment  of  the  rent  of  the  barracks,  so  that  it  would  not  be 
necessary  to  pay  two  rents.  This  proposition  was  well 
received,  though  no  definite  answer  was  given.  Captain 
Groome  promised  to  seriously  consider  it  and  to  consult 
the  Governor. 

Said  the  Reading  Telegram: 

This  latter  proposition  would  guard  in  a  way  against 
a  certain  unlawfulness  which  is  becoming  evident  in  antici- 
pation of  the  departure  of  the  State  Policemen.  .  .  .  Reports 
from  the  country  districts  show  discouragement  among 
storekeepers  and  truckers,  who  felt  particularly  safe  while 
the  Troop  was  near  by,  while  in  other  sections  open  asser- 
tions of  joy  at  the  departure  of  the  "State  cops"  are  ex- 
pressed, with  accompanying  boasts,  "Just  wait  till  them 
State  Police  go;  then  we'll  do  as  we  please." 


Isaiah  Wedge  143 

The  Reading  Times  testified: 

What  is  Berks  County's  loss  is  SchuylkilTs  gain.  By 
their  quiet,  unassuming  manner,  by  their  impartial  enforce- 
ment of  the  law,  by  their  successful  and  tactful  preservation 
of  order,  by  their  soldierly  bearing,  by  their  gentlemanly 
conduct,  and  by  their  display  of  calm,  good  judgment  in 
every  emergency,  the  members  of  this  Troop  have  won  and 
held  the  admiration  and  confidence  of  the  law-abiding 
citizens  of  the  entire  section  of  the  State. 

The  Reading  Herald,  racy  as  ever,  and  now  complete 
in  conversion  from  its  early  hostility,  describes  Schuyl- 
kill's  county  town  as  indulging  in  "sprightly  chuckles1' 
at  an  underhand  success.  It  continues: 

.  .  .  The  troopers  have  made  good  in  their  residence 
among  us.  Their  invasion  was  viewed  with  alarm  at  first. 
The  real  nature  of  their  personnel  was  doubted  and  feared. 
They  did  not  receive  the  general  glad  hand.  But  suspicion 
of  them  and  their  ways  wore  off  very  early.  .  .  .  And  the 
troopers'  conduct  has  so  commended  itself  to  all  of  us  that 
their  removal  is  regarded  as  a  dire  calamity. 

Perhaps  it  can  still  be  offset.  Perhaps  we  may  still 
induce  the  troopers  to  remain  with  us.  Certainly  a  large 
amount  of  effort,  and  money,  too,  if  necessary,  may  be  wisely 
expended  toward  this  end. 

But  the  die  was  cast.  The  Troop  was  on  the  wing. 
Driven  to  accept  the  unwelcome  fact,  Berks  in  her 
vexation  looked  about  for  someone  to  accuse.  Captain 
Groome  had  chanced  to  remark,  before  one  of  the 
committees  from  the  Board  of  Trade,  that  the  vote 
of  four  out  of  the  five  Berks  assemblymen  in  the 
Legislature  of  1909  against  increasing  the  Force  did 
not  convey  the  impression  of  Berks  enthusiasm  for  the 


144  Justice  to  All 

State  Police.  The  committee  even  deduced  that, 
had  the  Force  been  increased,  Berks  might  now  be 
enjoying  a  permanent  Troop! 

County  thought  at  once  concentrated  blackly  upon 
those  four  unfortunate  assemblymen — and  most  un- 
justly so.  They  should  have  been  instructed  in  ad- 
vance, not  blamed  too  late.  But  in  advance  the  busy 
community  had  forgotten  them — forgotten  them  en- 
tirely, and  the  harm  their  votes  could  do  if  left  to  be 
guided  only  by  that  sinister  element  that  is  never  too 
busy  to  remember  its  own  affairs. 

The  essence  of  this  matter  was  epitomized  in  another 
incident  of  the  1909  term.  A  Departmental  Head  in 
Harrisburg,  himself  much  interested  in  the  increase  of 
the  Force,  asked  a  certain  Assemblyman,  whom  it  is 
a  pity  not  to  name  here,  how  he  stood  on  the  State 
Police  Bill. 

"Why,"  said  the  Assemblyman,  "of  course  I  know 
personally  that  it  is  a  splendid  thing,  of  great  value  to 
the  State.  But  the  trouble  is  that  the  labor  organiza- 
tion in  my  town  is  against  it  and  has  got  my  pledge. 
A  deputation  waited  on  me,  while  I  was  a  nominee,  and 
fixed  it." 

The  Head  of  Department  had  his  figures  well  in 
hand.  "Do  you  know,"  asked  he,  "how  many  mem- 
bers Organized  Labor  can  show  in  your  town? — Three 
hundred." 

"Impossible!" 

"And  do  you  know  how  many  of  those  three  hundred 
actually  have  the  vote?  No?  Well,  I  can  tell  you. 
Just  seventeen.  Now,  there  is  a  considerably  larger 
body  of  citizens,  your  constituents,  that  haven't  asked 
you  to  pledge  yourself  to  anything,  because  they  look 
to  you  to  vote  without  specific  pledge  for  the  thing 


Isaiah  Wedge  143 

you  know  is  right.  They  may  look  pretty  easy  now, 
but  remember,  they  Ve  got  another  vote  coming  next 
year." 

"Oh,  yes,"  sneered  the  Assemblyman,  ''that  sounds 
all  very  pretty,  but  it  don't  appeal  to  me."  He  voted 
according  to  his  pledge,  and  next  session  his  constituents 
returned  another  man. 

"  Well, "  said  the  Head  of  Department  later  on,  "  who 
was  right,  you  or  I?" 

"Why,  hang  it  all,  you  were,"  grumbled  the  van- 
quished one.  "But  how  is  a  fellow  to  know  what  those 
clams  up  there  want?  They  never  take  the  trouble 
even  to  send  you  word!" 

Berks,  however,  took  her  lesson  to  heart,  spurred  by 
daily  thorns  in  her  peace. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  County  Agricultural 
Society,  in  September,  1910,  several  solid  farmers  took 
occasion  to  inquire  very  pointedly  why  the  Troop  had 
been  removed  from  Reading.  Farmers  as  a  class  are 
too  hard-working  to  find  time  for  frequent  assemblies, 
and  this  annual  meeting  brought  the  Berks  men  their 
one  opportunity  of  the  year  for  general  council.  Each 
township  and  ward  in  the  county  was  represented,  and 
many  leading  men  now  gave  their  views. 

Israel  M.  Bertolet  spoke  of  the  efficiency  of  the  State 
Policemen  as  he  knew  them,  laying  special  stress  on  their 
excellent  service  at  the  Boyertown  fire.  Wellington 
Van  Reed  followed,  reminding  the  people  of  the  good 
work  that  the  Police  had  done  on  the  return  of  the 
bodies  of  the  Mystic  Shriners  from  the  great  Honda 
train  wreck.  Joseph  N.  Shomo,  of  Hamburg,  spoke  of 
their  fine  achievements  in  running  down  robberies, 
and  of  the  fact  that  they  were  always  speedily  on  the 
ground. 
xo 


146  Justice  to  All 

The  people  feel  their  loss  severely  [said  Mr.  Shomo]. 
Since  the  troopers  have  been  removed  the  country  is 
overrun  with  tramps.  More  thefts  have  been  committed 
within  the  last  year  than  in  all  the  four  years  preceding. 

Adam  H.  Miller,  of  Host,  said: 

The  country  is  overrun  with  tramps  and  the  farmers 
are  annoyed.  When  the  Police  were  here  you  didn't 
see  a  tramp  in  months  and  petty  thefts  were  unheard 
of.  Now  thefts  are  commo'n  occurrences. 

John  L.  Trexler,  of  Mertztown,  said: 

When  a  fire  occurs  in  a  village  the  people  have  no  protec- 
tion now.  The  State  Police  were  the  only  ones  that  could 
be  called  on  in  such  a  case  for  assistance.  They  had  full 
authority  to  take  charge  of  affairs  and  direct  operations, 
and  they  did  it  in  the  right  way.  Their  first  care  in  time  of 
danger  was  to  look  after  the  women  and  children.  The 
State  Police  are  the  only  protection  that  the  country  people 
can  get  for  their  homes.  I  think  the  voters  should  question 
all  candidates  and  find  out  how  they  stand  on  this  point. 
The  Force  should  be  increased  and  part  of  it  sent  to  Berks 
County. 

That  such  was  the  sentiment  of  every  farmer  present 
was  proved  by  an  unanimous  vote,  and  by  the  resolve 
to  start  a  campaign  both  as  a  society  and  by  individual 
members  to  rally  the  county  in  a  fight  for  legislation  to 
increase  the  Force. 

The  result  of  this  and  of  similar  action  on  the  part 
of  the  other  elements  constituting  the  intelligence  of 
Berks  was  that  not  one  man  of  the  four  who,  however 
inadvertently,  misrepresented  the  county's  true  will 
in  the  Legislature  of  1909  was  returned  to  the  succeeding 
Legislature.  The  county  campaign  of  1910  was  in 


Isaiah  Wedge  147 

essence  a  campaign  on  the  State  Police  issue.  In  1911 
four  of  Berks's  five  assemblymen  voted  for  the  State 
Police  bill,  and  of  these  four  every  man  was  a  Democrat. 

The  State  Police,  by  pure  force  of  essential  values, 
had  broken  its  own  way  clear  of  the  field  of  party 
politics.  The  people  who  knew  it  by  experience — who 
knew  what  it  was  both  to  have  it  and  to  lack  it — 
appreciating  at  last  the  matter  at  stake,  would  no 
longer  suffer  it  to  be  handled  as  party  barter. 

Isaiah  Wedge  was  not  a  Berks  man.  On  the  con- 
trary, his  land  was  in  the  opposite  end  of  the  State,  in 
the  Blue  Ridge  hills  near  Youngstown.  But  what 
happened  to  Isaiah  Wedge  happens  now  and  again  to 
farmers  everywhere.  The  difference  was  in  the  conse- 
quences. And  the  consequences  were  the  kind  of  thing 
that  Berks  had  well  in  mind. 

Isaiah  Wedge  had  eight  little  children  to  care  for  and 
it  took  hard  work,  early  and  late,  to  keep  ahead  of 
their  needs.  But  early  and  late  Isaiah  did  work,  and 
so  managed  to  be  fairly  forehanded  when  all  went  well. 
He  got  what  he  could  from  his  crops  and,  after  farming 
season  was  over,  he  cut  and  shaped  timber  for  such 
market  as  he  could  find. 

So,  one  November  day,  Isaiah  Wedge  drove  into  the 
town  of  Latrobe  with  a  load  of  freshly  hewn  pit-posts 
for  sale.  He  turned  the  posts  into  money,  he  bought 
a  few  household  supplies,  and  finally,  with  the  parcels 
in  his  wagon  and  the  little  remainder  of  cash  in  his  old 
brown  wallet,  he  started  back  toward  home. 

Some  time  after  midnight  a  pair  of  wild-eyed  horses 
dashed  madly  down  the  streets  of  Latrobe  with  a 
seemingly  empty  wagon  rocking  at  their  heels.  Few 
people  were  abroad  so  late  in  the  evening,  and  of  these 
few  not  many  cared  to  attempt  interfering  with  the 


148  Justice  to  All 

runaways'  course.  But,  curiously,  after  having  brushed 
aside  or  dragged  and  left  behind  those  who  threw  them- 
selves in  their  way,  the  horses  stopped  of  their  own 
accord  before  the  doctor's  door. 

Alarmed  by  the  clatter  that  had  excited  the  whole 
quarter,  the  doctor  came  rushing  out,  peered  into  the 
wagon,  and  saw,  lying  limp  on  the  floor,  the  body  of 
a  man. 

Isaiah  Wedge  had  been  shot.  Mortally  wounded, 
he  presently  breathed  his  last  without  having  suf- 
ficiently regained  consciousness  to  give  the  slightest 
hint  of  what  had  befallen  him.  The  Latrobe  chief  of 
police  promptly  telephoned  the  news  to  "A"  Troop 
Barracks  in  the  county  town. 

The  message  reached  the  barracks  soon  after  mid- 
night. Privates  Donohoe  and  Hickey,  detailed  to  the 
case,  by  an  early  hour  next  morning  had  already  con- 
ducted their  investigation  so  far  as  to  provide  a  strong 
suspicion  of  the  seat  of  guilt,  and  to  identify  the  scene 
of  the  shooting.  Trailing  from  that  spot,  they  found 
an  automobile  abandoned  at  some  distance.  And 
before  nightfall  they  had  run  down  and  arrested,  in  a 
negro's  shack,  the  negro  and  four  youths  whom,  to- 
gether, they  believed  to  be  the  authors  of  Isaiah  Wedge's 
death. 

Searching  the  shack  and  its  surroundings,  they  found 
three  revolvers,  the  property  of  three  of  the  prisoners. 
Two  of  the  weapons  not  only  contained  empty  shells 
but  also  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  having  been 
recently  discharged. 

These  matters  Private  Donohoe  telephoned  to 
barracks  within  the  day  after  the  shooting  had  occurred. 
Captain  Adams  responded  by  sending  Sergeant  Mc- 
Laughlin  to  Latrobe  to  continue  the  investigation. 


Isaiah  Wedge  149 

Sergeant  McLaughlin  began  his  interrogation  of  the 
prisoners  in  the  town  jail  at  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  second  day  after  the  farmer's  death.  The  ser- 
geant carefully  took  down  the  story  of  each  prisoner 
separately,  each  flatly  denying  the  crime.  Then  he 
conveyed  them  all  to  the  county  town,  and  there  again 
examined  each  one  apart.  Each  still  repudiated  all 
knowledge  of  the  matter,  until  it  came  to  the  turn 
of  the  fifth  man.  In  the  white  Socratic  light  of  State 
Police  catechizing,  under  which  the  most  brazenly 
conceived  and  most  thoroughly  learned  lie  eventually 
breaks  down,  that  fifth  man- admitted  that  one  of  his 
party  had  indeed  shot  Isaiah  Wedge. 

Then,  the  die  being  cast,  the  prisoner  freed  his  mind 
of  the  entire  burden.  He  himself,  he  related,  owned  a 
little  automobile,  and  he  and  his  gang  had  decided  that 
evening  to  go  out  for  a  ride. 

"Let's  go  get  some  ready  money,"  said  one. 

This  suggestion  finding  general  favor,  the  five  drove 
first  to  a  brewery  and  bought  a  case  of  beer  to  enliven 
the  expedition.  Thence,  stopping  occasionally  to 
drink,  they  trundled  vaguely  along  the  dusky  roads, 
undecided  whither  to  turn,  until  at  last  the  sudden 
snapping  of  a  chain  brought  them  to  a  standstill  whether 
they  would  or  no. 

One  of  the  party  now  ran  off  with  the  broken  chain, 
looking  for  a  place  to  get  it  mended,  while  the  others 
lazily  flung  themselves  down  in  the  dry  leaves  by  the 
roadside  to  await  his  return. 

"But  we  aren't  doing  what  we  started  to  do,  boys," 
presently  grumbled  one.  ' '  Where's  that  easy  money  ? ' ' 

"What's  the  word?"  asked  another. 

"How  about  holding  up  the  first  comer  right  here  and 
now?"  suggested  a  third. 


ISO  Justice  to  All 

"  Good ! "  agreed  all.     "  Let's  do  it." 

So  the  negro  and  the  three  American  lads — no  alien 
born  these,  but  Americans  by  birth  and  by  ancestry — 
lay  snug  in  the  dead  leaves,  awaiting  their  luck  and  the 
first  comer. 

Meantime,  hunched  on  his  wagon  seat,  with  his  collar 
turned  up  around  his  ears  and  his  old  fur  cap  pulled 
down  over  his  eyes,  Isaiah  Wedge  sat  dozing,  while 
his  lean  team  jogged  patiently  on.  Isaiah  was  tired 
out  with  the  long  day's  work  behind  him,  and  the  chill 
of  the  evening  was  stiffening  his  toil-knotted  fingers 
and  his  rheumatic  joints.  The  team  knew  those  many 
hard  miles  home  as  well  as  he;  so  he  sat  bowed  and 
dozing,  with  the  reins  hanging  loose  in  lax  hands 
dropped  between  his  knees. 

Back  in  the  wagon,  wrapped  in  a  parcel,  was  a  piece 
of  gay  woolen  dress-goods,  just  enough  for  two  little 
girls'  frocks.  He  must  have  chosen  that  with  care,  for 
the  sake  of  the  light  in  the  four  round  eyes  that  would 
welcome  it  home.  And  there  was  a  paper  bag,  full  of 
sticks  of  candy,  and  there  were  a  few  little  packages  of 
stores.  Isaiah  was  tired,  dead  tired,  but  "the  little 
fellers  up  on  the  mountain  "  would  certainly  jump  with 
joy  when  he  got  back! 

Suddenly,  his  horses  stopped  short  and  Isaiah  Wedge 
awoke  with  a  start.  By  the  light  of  the  lantern  swing- 
ing from  his  axletree,  he  saw  a  figure  in  the  road  before 
him — a  figure  with  upraised  hand. 

"Evenin',  stranger,  can  you  tell  me  the  road  to 
Youngstown?" 

"  Evenin1, "  responded  Isaiah.  "  Sure  I  can.  You 
just  take " 

But  he  never  finished  the  phrase.  He  never  even 
heard  the  two  shots  that  rang  out  from  behind  him 


Isaiah  Wedge  151 

as  he  pitched  down  backward  with  a  bullet  in  his 
brain. 

The  team,  with  one  great  lunge,  plunged  ahead  as  he 
fell  and,  leap  on  leap,  disappeared  into  the  echoing 
night. 

So  there  was  no  chance  to  take  the  " easy  money"  out 
of  the  poor  thin  old  wallet  with  its  frayed  corners  and  its 
mended  strap.  For  the  wallet  was  on  the  murdered 
man's  body,  and  the  body  was  rolling  from  side  to  side 
on  the  wagon  floor,  with  the  baby  girls'  frocks,  and  the 
sticks  of  candy,  red  and  white,  and  the  little  packets  of 
stores,  and  the  widening  streams  of  blood.  Sometimes 
it  rolled.  Sometimes  it  slid  forward  and  back,  as 
the  wagon  jumped  over  stones  and  mudholes,  at  the 
heels  of  the  frenzied  team.  But  farther  and  farther  it 
flew  from  the  hands  of  those  who  had  taken  a  faithful 
life  and  made  eight  little  nestlings  homeless  that  pitiful 
black  night. 

The  youth  who  had  fired  the  fatal  shot,  when  faced 
by  his  comrade's  confession,  admitted  the  deed  although 
swearing  that  he  "only  meant  to  frighten"  his  victim, 
not  to  kill.  Then  all  the  prisoners  excepting  that  one 
who  was  saved  by  his  errand  with  the  broken  chain, 
signed  detailed  statements,  and  made  full  confessions 
to  the  district  attorney — confessions  that  included, 
also,  accounts  of  various  burglaries  lately  committed 
upon  farmers'  houses  and  barns. 

Before  nightfall  of  the  second  day  after  the  murder, 
the  case  of  the  State  was  entirely  completed  by  the 
work  of  the  State  Police.  In  the  next  term  of  court 
the  young  man  whose  hand  had  done  the  deed  was 
convicted  of  murder  in  the  first  degree.  The  remaining 
three  were  convicted  of  murder  in  the  second  degree, 
and  sentences  were  awarded  accordingly. 


Justice  to  All 

Nothing  of  all  this  could  mitigate  in  the  slightest 
measure  the  evil  that  had  been  done.  None  of  it  could 
restore  to  ''the  little  fellers  up  on  the  mountain"  the 
loving  shelter  of  their  father's  arms.  But  who  shall 
say  how  many  other  humble  homes  are  safe  and  happy 
to-day  because  of  the  swift  and  complete  punishment 
visited  upon  those  who  made  Isaiah  Wedge's  children 
lone  and  fatherless?. 

"The  greatest  encouragement  that  a  criminal  can 
possess  in  a  criminal  career — the  greatest  temptation  to 
yield  to  his  tendency  that  a  potential  criminal  can  en- 
counter," says  Captain  Adams  of  Troop  "A,"  "is  the 
belief  that  he  can  commit  his  crime  and  'get  away  with 
it.'" 


CHAPTER  XII 

HORSE  THIEVES,  ROBBERS,  AND  WRATH 

DURING  the  summer  of  1911,  the  State  Police  De- 
partment received  many  times,  from  local  police 
departments  in  other  States,  descriptions  of  horse 
thieves  who  had  been  plying  their  trade  in  those  regions. 
These  descriptions,  being  compared,  frequently  proved 
to  be  practically  identical,  thereby  creating  a  belief 
that  one  skillful  horse  thief  was  the  perpetrator  of  a 
series  of  crimes  over  a  wide  territory. 

Finally  it  became  apparent  that  the  main  line  of 
operations  was  extending  into  eastern  Pennsylvania; 
at  which  point  "C"  Troop  took  up  the  matter  in 
earnest. 

The  descriptions  of  the  thief  agreed  that  he  was  about 
five  and  a  half  feet  tall,  weighed  about  two  hundred 
pounds,  seemed  some  fifty  years  old,  was  slightly  bald, 
of  a  smooth  and  easy  manner,  and  of  businesslike 
bearing.  He  appeared  under  many  aliases,  as  Miller, 
Kline,  Hicks,  Myers,  Moyer.  His  real  name  was 
Schmoyer.  And  wherever  the  pose  was  available,  he 
represented  himself  to  be  a  buyer  of  timber,  so  stating 
to  the  livery  stable  owner  whose  best  horse  he  "  hired  " 
to  drive  about  on  a  tour  of  timber  inspection. 

"I'm  only  going  out  to  look  over  a  grove  of  ash,  up 
yonder,"  he  would  say.  "I'll  be  back  in  four  or  five 
hours.  Give  me  a  good  animal.  Just  let  me  glance 
over  the  stable  and  see  what  you've  got." 

153 


154  Justice  to  All 

According  to  the  judges  of  the  Schuylkill  Court 
before  whom  he  frequently  presents  cases,  Sergeant 
Harvey  J.  Smith,  of  "C"  Troop,  is  a  secret  service 
man  of  the  first  quality.  Sergeant  Smith  was  now 
given  this  case  as  a  special  care,  and  soon  discovered 
that  the  clever  rogue  actually  made  occasional  residence 
in  Schuylkill  County,  at  the  inn  of  a  little  town  near 
the  border. 

Between  the  inn-keeper  and  the  thief  a  very  strong 
physical  resemblance  existed,  on  the  strength  of  which, 
although  there  was  no  real  relationship,  the  thief  not 
only  passed  as  the  inn-keeper's  cousin  but  bore  the  inn- 
keeper's name  while  in  that  locality.  The  discovery 
that  the  latter  knew  and  consented  to  the  fraudulent 
use  of  his  name  led  Sergeant  Smith  to  believe  that  the 
two  "  cousins  "  were  bound  by  some  criminal  connection. 

One  day  in  November,  1911,  a  member  of  "B" 
Troop  came  posting  down  from  Wyoming  on  the  search 
for  a  horse  stolen  from  a  farmer  in  the  north.  With 
Sergeant  Smith's  discovery  as  a  possible  clue,  the  officers 
paid  a  visit  to  the  little  inn  by  the  border.  Here  they 
found  that  Schmoyer,  some  five  months  previous,  had 
visited  his  "cousin"  briefly,  and  then  had  suddenly 
and  mysteriously  disappeared,  leaving  behind  him 
two  horses  that  still  stood  in  the  stable.  In  parenthesis, 
it  may  be  said  that  these  two  horses  are  believed  to  have 
been  stolen  in  New  Jersey,  but  that  the  owners  have 
never  yet  been  identified. 

Persistently  trailing  the  thief  through  a  devious  course 
traversing  several  States,  Sergeant  Smith  finally  found 
him,  in  December,  1912,  in  a  New  York  State  prison 
under  sentence  for  horse-stealing  in  that  State.  Three 
liverymen  from  eastern  Pennsylvania  who  had  suffered 
theft  at  Schmoyer 's  hands,  being  taken  to  this  prison, 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  155 

identified  the  man.  Detainers  were  then  duly  filed 
against  him. 

Nevertheless,  on  February  10,  1913,  Schmoyer  was 
paroled  from  this  New  York  State  prison,  over  the 
Pennsylvania  detainers;  and  the  thief  immediately 
violated  the  parole. 

For  two  years  no  trace  of  him  appeared.  He  had 
apparently  ceased  operating.  But  Sergeant  Smith, 
keeping  him  always  in  mind,  carefully  laid  lines  to 
insure  being  promptly  informed  of  his  outcropping 
wherever  that  should  occur.  At  last,  on  July  15,  1915, 
the  report  came  in  that  a  horse  had  been  stolen  in 
Denver,  Lancaster  County,  by  a  man  whose  personal 
description  and  whose  methods  strongly  indicated  the 
recrudescence  of  Schmoyer. 

Immediately  a  trooper  was  sent  to  cover  Schmoyer's 
old  haunt,  the  border  inn,  and  a  quiet  investigation  was 
instituted  there,  which  speedily  induced  certain  volun- 
tary confessions.  These  confessions,  made  with  thieves' 
loyalty,  uncovered  a  long  history  of  Schmoyer's  ac- 
tivities and  of  the  horses  that  he  had  brought  to  the 
rendezvous  at  the  inn. 

Meantime,  with  skill  that  amounted  to  an  art,  the 
thief  was  pursuing  his  chosen  vocation  here  and  there 
in  the  interior  of  the  State,  while  Sergeant  Smith  multi- 
plied and  strengthened  the  strands  of  the  web  that 
should  ultimately  snare  him. 

At  length,  on  September  2,  1915,  one  of  the  strands 
twitched.  A  farmer  in  the  centre  of  Schuylkill  County 
telephoned  "C"  Troop  barracks  that  he  had  seen  a 
man  resembling  Schmoyer  in  that  vicinity. 

Instantly  two  troopers,  Stillwell  and  Buono,  swung 
out  for  the  trail.  Picking  it  up,  they  followed  it  for 
thirty-four  miles.  The  last  dash,  on  which  they  were 


156  Justice  to  All 

absolutely  sure  of  being  right,  they  made  by  motor. 
And  before  nightfall  they  had  captured  their  man,  red- 
handed,  in  the  very  act  of  taking  money  for  the 
horse  and  buggy  stolen  on  July  22d,  in  Lancaster 
County. 

In  tracing  Schmoyer's  operations  since  his  untimely 
release  on  parole  from  the  New  York  prison  and  his 
reappearance  in  the.field,  Sergeant  Smith  had  acquired 
knowledge  of  twenty-five  thefts  of  horses,  carriages,  and 
harness,  perpetrated  by  Schmoyer  during  that  period, 
in  fifty  towns  and  villages  in  twenty- two  counties  of 
Pennsylvania.  During  the  year  1915,  in  addition  to 
these  feats,  Schmoyer  had  obtained  money  under 
false  pretenses  from  two  separate  victims  in  Union 
County;  had  stolen  a  large  quantity  of  timber  from  an 
owner  in  Mifflinburg,  and  had  defrauded  a  man  in 
Centre  County  of  several  weeks'  board. 

Schmoyer  never  sold  an  animal  for  less  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars,  but  he  had  an  excellent 
knowledge  of  horseflesh  and  dealt  only  in  specimens 
that  did  credit  to  his  judgment. 

"You  are  sure  these  horses  are  all  right?"  asked  one 
purchaser  who  felt  that  the  bargain  offered  was  almost 
too  good  to  be  true. 

"Why,  see  here,  just  call  up  my  home  in  Allentown, 
and  ask  my  wife  about  this  team, "  urged  the  plausible 
rascal,  reckoning  justly  that  his  own  boldness,  combined 
with  the  shadow  cast  upon  the  farmer's  mind  by  a  long- 
distance telephone  fee,  would  render  his  bluff  safe. 
"You  see,  my  friend,  I've  got  rheumatism,  bad.  Win- 
ters I'm  all  crippled  up  with  it.  I  need  this  money 
just  to  get  south.  When  I'm  there  I'll  get  a  job — any 
job  that  I  can  make  a  living  at." 

The  sympathetic  farmer  drove  the  sufferer  to  the 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  157 

railway  station  and  stood  gossiping  with  him  till  the 
train  came  in. 

"Be  good  to  old  Dan.  He's  been  our  family  pet 
a  long  time,  old  Dan  has, "  Schmoyer  called  back  in  a 
voice  trembling  with  emotion,  as  he  climbed  aboard. 

"  Old  Dan  "  had  been  stolen  from  another  farmer  only 
fourteen  miles  away.  But  Schmoyer  is  now  serving 
a  four-to-eight  years'  sentence  in  the  Eastern  Peni- 
tentiary. 

The  Schmoyer  case  is  an  example  of  certain  methods 
of  the  Force.  As  a  rule,  one  or  two  men  are  thus 
detailed  to  special  charge  of  a  given  problem.  As  need 
arises,  other  men  are  put  on,  to  save  time  by  investigat- 
ing tributary  points,  these  reporting  back  to  the  man 
specially  in  charge.  Results  are  usually  attained  very 
rapidly;  but  in  any  event  the  State  Police  never  drops 
an  unfinished  case,  or  gives  up  the  pursuit  of  a  man  that 
it  wants.  Overburdened  with  work  as  the  Force  is, 
if  a  case  grows  cold  it  may  be  temporarily  dropped  in 
favor  of  some  other  and  more  instantly  pressing  call; 
but  the  matter  is  never  out  of  mind ;  other  clues  develop 
and  are  followed,  and  the  end  is  sure. 

Speaking  still  of  horse-stealing,  the  Harrisburg 
Telegraph,  on  August  15,  1913,  said  editorially: 

One  State  Policeman  seems  to  be  a  whole  regiment. 
Two  are  a  brigade.  Five  are  a  corps.  In  point  of  efficiency 
this  little  handful  of  mounted  men  would  appear  to  be 
considerably  more  valuable  than  all  the  county  constables 
and  detectives  in  Pennsylvania  put  together.  .  .  .  The 
county  constables  are  politicians  with  jobs.  ...  It  is  not 
at  all  uncommon  for  them  to  ask  money  of  a  farmer  who 
comes  to  them  with  a  complaint.  Few  of  them  will  turn  a 
hand  to  look  for  a  thief  unless  the  man  robbed  is  willing  to 


158  Justice  to  All 

offer  a  reward,  and  they  invariably  expect  the  reward  to  do 
the  work  instead  of  themselves. 

We  recall  an  instance  in  which  a  horse  worth  about  $250 
was  stolen  from  a  barn  not  twenty-five  miles  from  Harris- 
burg.  When  the  fanner  appealed  to  the  county  authorities, 
he  was  told  that  he  must  put  up  a  reward.  Weeks  passed 
by  and  they  chased  him  hither  and  yon  to  look  at  all  sorts 
of  horses  which  someone  thought  might  have  been  stolen. 
He  had  spent,  including  the  reward,  just  $105  for  the 
recovery  of  the  horse  when  it  occurred  to  him  to  insist  that 
the  State  Police  be  called  in.  Two  members  of  the  Force 
were  detailed  and  in  a  few  days  they  arrested  the  thieves 
near  the  Maryland  line  and  returned  the  horse  to  the 
farmer  without  asking  him  for  a  penny,  so  far  as  they 
were  concerned. 

The  Schmoyer  affair  may  be  taken  as  an  extreme 
instance  of  a  slow  case.  By  far  the  greater  number 
work  out  with  speed.  Early  on  the  afternoon  of 
October  8,  1915,  a  complaint  was  telephoned  to  "C" 
Troop  barracks  from  the  village  of  Tremont  to  the 
effect  that  several  horses  had  been  stolen  in  that  locality 
during  the  few  days  just  previous. 

Troopers  Keeley  and  J.  Miller,  detailed  to  the  call, 
reached  Tremont  shortly  after  three  o'clock  that  after- 
noon, took  a  description  of  the  horses  stolen  and  of  the 
men  whom  the  people  accused.  They  then  started 
on  the  search.  By  this  and  by  that,  trained  hands 
that  they  were,  they  found  the  thieves  before  nightfall. 
But  these,  taking  alarm  from  afar  off,  sped  for  the 
railway  station  and  boarded  a  freight-train  just  slowly 
pulling  out. 

Then  followed  a  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  any- 
thing that  a  trooper  knows,  including  his  fanciest 
"circus  riding,"  may  at  any  time  come  into  play  with- 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  159 

out  a  second's  notice.  Wheeling  their  horses,  and 
riding  abreast  of  the  track  ahead  of  the  oncoming  train, 
the  two  young  troopers,  as  the  car  containing  the  horse 
thieves  passed,  sprang  from  their  saddles  into  its  open 
door,  grappled  with  their  men,  and  jumped  off  with 
them. 

Then,  brushing  the  dust  from  their  trim  blouses,  they 
quietly  conducted  their  dumbfounded  captives  to  the 
place  allotted  to  persons  of  such  habits. 

The  following  record  of  a  burglary  case  somewhat 
extends  the  view  of  the  Force's  scope. 

A  wealthy  resident  of  Schuylkill  County,  whose  name 
need  not  be  given  here,  returned  to  her  home  one  June 
morning  after  a  few  days'  absence  to  find  that  the  house 
had  been  robbed.  Investigation  showed  that  the  bur- 
glary had  taken  place  on  the  previous  night,  during 
which,  it  appeared,  the  servants  had  all  been  away. 
A  pane  of  glass  had  been  removed  from  a  veranda 
window,  the  window  raised,  and  an  entry  effected  in 
that  manner.  About  seven  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
jewelry  had  been  stolen. 

Again  Sergeant  Harvey  J.  Smith  of  "C"  Troop  was 
given  charge  of  the  case.  One  of  his  first  steps  was  to 
take  the  description  of  each  piece  of  the  missing  jewelry 
and  to  forward  it  to  Tiffany,  Marcus,  and  such  other 
jewelers  as  keep  record  of  their  designs,  in  the  various 
large  cities.  An  early  result  was  a  message  from  the 
office  of  Inspector  Faurot,  Chief  of  the  New  York  City 
Police  Detective  Bureau,  stating  that  a  man  had  been 
arrested  while  acting  in  a  suspicious  manner  as  he  tried 
to  pawn  a  valuable  piece  of  jewelry  in  Park  Row. 
When  this  man  was  taken  into  custody,  he  was  wearing 
a  watch  engraved  with  the  name  of  a  member  of  the 
family  robbed  in  Pottsville.  That  name  the  prisoner 


160  Justice  to  All 

claimed  for  his  own,  offering  the  inscription  in  the 
watch  as  proof  of  his  identity. 

Going  at  once  to  New  York,  Sergeant  Smith  was 
able  to  identify  the  prisoner  as  a  man  whom  he  had 
seen  in  Pottsville  on  the  day  preceding  the  robbery. 

"He  didn't  look  very  good  to  me  then,  and  so  I  hap- 
pened to  remember  his  face, "  explained  the  sergeant. 

Procuring  the  prisoner's  extradition,  the  State  Police 
officer  next  proceeded  to  look  up  his  record.  This 
investigation  developed  the  fact  not  only  that  he  was 
a  parole  violator  from  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  of 
Pennsylvania,  but  also  that  he  was  wanted  in  New 
Jersey,  where  he  had  broken  jail  three  days  after  being 
sentenced  to  ten  years'  imprisonment  for  burglary. 

In  escaping  from  the  New  Jersey  prison,  the  man, 
whose  name  was  Haight,  had  joined  his  cell-mate  in 
sawing  through  the  cell  bars.  When  the  turnkeys 
came  to  this  cell,  in  the  course  of  rounds,  the  inmates 
knocked  both  guards  down,  shot  one,  and  made  their 
escape.  But,  instead  of  attempting  the  usual  common- 
place flight  and  giving  their  pursuers  time  to  gain  on 
them  in  a  long  chase,  the  two  knaves  actually  moved 
only  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  prison  walls. 
There  they  broke  into  the  unoccupied  dwelling  of  a 
feather  merchant  who  had  taken  his  family  south  for 
the  winter. 

In  this  comfortable  lodging  the  two  rested  peacefully 
for  ten  days,  until  the  New  Jersey  officials  had  tired  of 
searching  the  countryside  for  them  and  until  the  excite- 
ment had  blown  over.  Then  they  fitted  themselves 
out  liberally  from  the  feather  merchant's  wardrobe, 
stole  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  sample  feathers  and  a 
sealskin  coat  worth  eight  hundred  dollars,  and  departed 
for  Boston. 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  161 

In  Boston,  while  Haight's  companion  sat  in  a  restau- 
rant ordering  a  meal,  his  waiter  noticed  that  he  carried 
a  revolver  in  his  pocket  and  so  informed  the  policeman 
on  the  beat.  Examining  the  suitcase  captured  with  the 
man,  the  Boston  police  officers  found  it  stuffed  with 
valuable  feathers.  The  court  sentenced  the  prisoner 
to  six  months'  confinement  for  carrying  a  revolver, 
but  was  unable  to  find  the  owner  of  the  feathers, 
which  were  therefore  retained. 

Sergeant  Smith,  having  extended  his  discoveries  to 
this  extent  through  his  own  radiating  channels  of 
information,  helped  out  by  bits  of  clues  involuntarily 
dropped  by  his  prisoner,  Haight,  now  laid  the  sum  of 
them  all  before  Haight. 

The  latter,  seeing  that  escape*  was  no  longer  possible, 
took  thought  how  best  to  improve  his  impending  fate, 
and  to  that  end  volunteered  help  in  recovering  the  stolen 
jewelry.  At  the  time  of  his  arrest,  he  said,  a  mate  of 
his,  named  Johnson,  was  walking  on  the  other  side  of 
Park  Row  carrying  the  jewelry  in  a  box.  Johnson 
could  be  found,  Haight  believed,  through  one  "Doc" 
Humphrey,  who,  in  turn,  should  be  reached  in  a  certain 
den  in  New  York  City. 

Armed  with  a  letter  from  Haight  to  Humphrey, 
asking  that  the  latter  cause  Johnson  to  give  up  the 
jewelry,  the  sergeant  now  returned  to  New  York. 
After  a  little  search,  he  there  found  that  Humphrey, 
just  overtaken  by  some  unrelated  villainy,  languished 
in  jail,  nursing  a  bitter  resentment  against  the  comrade 
Johnson  who  refused  to  appear  and  buy  him  his  liberty 
with  a  thousand  dollars'  bail — which  bail  he  had  in- 
tended promptly  to  jump. 

Now,  the  sergeant  had  already  discovered  that 
"Doc"  Humphrey  was  identical  with  a  rascal  long 


162  Justice  to  All 

wanted  in  several  other  States  on  several  other  scores. 
Finding  the  man  in  prison,  he  therefore  at  once  so 
advised  the  interested  States,  in  order  that  they  might 
lodge  their  detainers  accordingly.  At  the  same  time, 
in  order  to  anticipate  all  risk,  he  took  Humphrey  into 
the  New  York  City  court  and  asked  that  his  bail  be 
increased.  This  the  magistrate  willingly  did,  and  by  a 
formidable  figure. 

Then  the  enraged  Humphrey  betrayed  Johnson's 
real  name,  with  the  fact  that  the  latter  had  once  briefly 
served  in  the  United  States  Marine  Corps.  Upon  this 
Sergeant  Smith  applied  to  the  Navy  Department  and 
quickly  received  therefrom  a  detailed  description  of 
"  Johnson."  By  a  dragnet  search  through  the  dens  of 
New  York,  the  Pennsylvanian  officer  now  discovered 
that  Johnson  had  run  over  to  Boston  with  two  women. 
Meantime,  with  the  aid  of  detectives  of  the  New  York 
City  police,  the  trooper  was  searching  for  the  stolen 
jewelry. 

In  a  few  days'  time,  picking  up  here  a  little,  there 
a  little,  in  twenty-seven  different  pawnshops  scattered 
over  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  all  but  about  two  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  the  missing  pieces  had  been  recovered. 

Sergeant  Brown,  of  the  New  York  Central  Station, 
built  the  next  block  into  the  case  by  accomplishing  the 
arrest  of  Johnson,  having  recognized  him  from  the  Navy 
Department's  description,  as  he  was  boldly  strolling 
on  Lexington  Avenue.  This  man,  it  appeared,  was  a 
type  of  degenerate,  the  son  of  wealthy  parents  who 
still  came  to  his  aid,  but  who  was  himself  so  poor- 
spirited  a  creature  that  he  had  not  even  the  courage 
to  commit  active  crimes,  but  satisfied  his  vicious  taste 
by  hanging  about  the  skirts  of  bolder  criminals  and 
receiving  their  stolen  goods. 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  163 

So,  in  the  end,  Haight,  Humphrey,  and  Johnson 
went  to  serve  their  several  terms  in  prisons  which 
perhaps  may  safeguard  them;  the  merchant  in  New 
Jersey  received  back  his  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
feathers;  his  wife  recovered  her  good  seal  coat;  and  to 
the  family  in  Pottsville  were  returned  almost  all  of  its 
stolen  treasures.  And  this  all  came  to  pass  through 
the  rapid  and  effective  work  of  one  highly  trained  State 
officer  of  the  only  State  in  the  Union  that  recognizes 
in  practical  form  the  duty  of  watching  over  all  her 
people. 

To  sum  up  the  affair  once  more  in  brief:  The  De- 
partment of  State  Police  of  Pennsylvania  was  notified 
promptly  of  a  rural  burglary.  A  State  Police  officer 
was  detailed  to  the  case.  A  few  days  of  concentrated 
work  pursued  by  an  able,  alert,  trained,  and  experienced 
mind,  achieved  the  vindication  of  the  law  before  the 
criminal  world;  ended  probably  forever  the  depreda- 
tions of  two  widely-ravening  malefactors;  disposed 
for  awhile  of  a  vicious  degenerate;  established  a  circle 
of  surety  welding  together  city  and  country,  and  re- 
stored to  their  rightful  owners  valuables  stolen  in  two 
States. 

The  persons  from  whom  these  goods  were  stolen 
could  undoubtedly  have  afforded  to  employ  private 
detectives  to  pursue  the  thieves,  instead  of  receiving 
that  signal  service  free  from  the  State. 

But  crime  does  not  always  choose  the  well-to-do  for 
its  victim.  And  let  it  be  considered  whether  that 
State  does  right  which  says:  "I  make  my  laws  for  the 
protection  and  welfare  of  my  people.  But  whether 
my  people  profit  by  them  or  not  shall  depend  on  the  weight 
of  their  purses" 

Then  again,  once  upon  a  time,  it  happened  that  the 


164  Justice  to  All 

Department  of  State  Police  received  from  the  chief  of 
police  of  South  Bethlehem  a  message  to  the  effect  that 
platinum  in  large  amounts  was  being  stolen  from  the 
laboratories  of  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Company.  Cor- 
poral Curtis  A.  Davies  of  "C"  Troop  was  detailed  to 
the  case. 

At  the  laboratories,  Corporal  Davies  went  over  the 
particulars  of  the  affair  with  the  chief  chemist  and  his 
assistants.  Only  a  few  days  previous,  it  appeared, 
the  latest  theft  had  occurred  when  some  five  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  the  precious  stuff  had  been  taken  from 
a  crucible. 

It  also  appeared  that  a  tall  man,  evidently  a  Jew, 
giving  the  name  of  Cohen,  and  between  forty  and 
forty-five  years  old,  had  been  in  the  laboratory  selling 
books  and  taking  subscriptions  for  magazines  at  about 
the  time  of  the  disappearance  of  the  platinum. 

Upon  the  Jew  a  degree  of  suspicion  centred.  On 
his  several  visits  to  the  place,  it  was  now  recalled,  he 
had  always  asked  for  some  one  person,  and  had  tried  to 
persuade  that  person  to  subscribe  to  a  magazine.  If 
sufficiently  deft,  he  might  have  found  chances  on  those 
occasions  to  put  platinum  in  his  pocket.  Five  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  the  metal  can  easily  be  concealed  in  the 
hand. 

Corporal  Davies  now  began  a  hunt  for  "Cohen." 
To  police  authorities  all  over  the  country  circular  letters 
were  addressed  asking  for  news  of  robberies  in  this 
particular  line.  And  almost  at  once  answering  reports 
of  thefts  of  platinum  began  coming  in.  From  college 
laboratories,  from  steel  mills,  from  Boston,  from 
Washington,  from  various  cities  in  New  York  State 
and  in  New  Jersey,  from  the  Assay er's  Office  in  New 
York  City,  from  the  City  Departments  of  Chemistry  of 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  165 

Philadelphia  and  of  Pittsburgh,  from  United  States 
Arsenals,  from  several  points  in  Nevada,  from  the 
Laboratory  of  the  State  of  Nevada,  from  the  University 
of  Illinois,  from  San  Francisco,  from  Denver,  came 
word  of  platinum  missing,  but  in  no  instance  was  there 
any  guess  as  to  who  might  have  committed  the  theft. 

Then  in  response  to  each  report,  was  sent  from  the 
State  Police  a  description  of  the  "  book-agent, "  and  an 
inquiry  if  such  a  person  had  appeared  on  the  scene 
previous  to  the  loss.  And  always  an  affirmative  reply 
came  back. 

Yet  testimony  such  as  this  left  too  much  room  for 
doubt.  More  proof  was  needed  to  establish  a  belief 
that  the  thief  in  each  manifestation  was  the  same 
man.  So  Corporal  Davies  visited  various  scenes  of 
loss  in  New  York  State,  in  New  England,  and  to  the 
south,  travelling  some  three  thousand  miles  in  all, 
examining  facts — which  confirmed  his  theory — and 
compiling  a  very  accurate  and  detailed  description 
not  only  of  the  man  but  of  the  manner  in  which  he  did 
his  work. 

Then  Corporal  Davies  sent  his  compilation  to  the 
president  of  a  certain  chemists'  association,  whose  mem- 
bership includes  practically  every  chemist  in  the  country 
of  the  type  that  he  desired  to  reach. 

"It  is  important,"  said  the  corporal,  "that  this 
warning  reach  all  your  membership  promptly.  Will 
you  send  it  out  in  the  forthcoming  issue  of  the  journal 
that  you  privately  print?" 

The  warning  read  something  as  follows: 

A  man  of  such  and  such  appearance  (describing  Cohen  to 
the  least  scar)  will  appear  to  you  one  day  on  the  pretext  of 
selling  magazines  or  something  of  the  kind.  He  will  ask  for 


1 66  Justice  to  All 

some  member  of  your  staff  by  name,  and  will  attempt  to 
interest  him  in  his  wares.  He  will  go  away,  after  a  reason- 
able interval,  but  will  return  late  in  the  day  when  only  one 
or  two  of  your  men  are  left  in  the  laboratory. 

He  will  then  show  a  diamond  scarf-pin  lacking  one  stone 
and  will  say  that  he  lost  the  missing  stone  on  his  former 
appearance, — or  he  will  say  that  he  left  his  spectacles  or  his 
fountain  pen  behind. 

This  gives  him  a  pretext  to  look  about  the  place  and 
locate  your  platinum  crucibles,  from  which  he  will  make  an 
opportunity  to  help  himself. 

Be  on  the  alert.  When  such  a  man  appears,  hold  him  on 
suspicion,  until  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  can  send  an 
officer  to  investigate. 

The  president  of  the  chemists'  association,  receiving 
this  document,  did  not  leave  it  to  the  next  issue  of  his 
journal,  but  sat  down  that  same  night  and  despatched 
it  in  multigraph  form  to  four  hundred  men.  The  next 
day  he  circularized  the  rest  of  his  list. 

Corporal  Davies  meantime  kept  on  working ;  but  not 
for  long,  for  in  a  few  days'  time  came  word  from  the 
laboratory  at  Sparrows  Point,  Maryland,  to  the  effect 
that  Sparrows  Point  was  holding  a  suspect  under  arrest. 

Corporal  Davies  took  wings  to  the  spot.  There 
indeed  sat  Cohen,  if  words  can  describe  a  man.  But 
the  able  villain  had  employed  the  best  counsel  in  Balti- 
more, and  bade  fair  to  break  away  but  for  the  firm 
hand  of  the  judge,  who,  disregarding  the  skillful  man- 
euvres  in  his  behalf,  turned  him  over  to  the  State 
Police  officer. 

On  the  way  back  to  Bethlehem,  the  officer  paid  his 
prisoner's  fare,  but  Cohen,  with  the  rather  boastful 
instinct  common  to  his  class,  solaced  himself  for  his 
dulled  luck  by  nevertheless  displaying  a  large  mile- 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  167 

age  book — and  Corporal  Davies  quietly  noted  its 
number. 

Having  lodged  his  prize  in  safe  keeping,  the  corporal 
then  repaired  to  Philadelphia  and  the  general  office  of 
the  railroad.  There,  being  so  conveniently  provided 
with  the  number  of  the  mileage  book,  he  traced  up  his 
prisoner's  course.  Exactly  at  what  time  Cohen  had 
reached  a  city,  exactly  when  he  left  it,  where  he  went 
next  and  at  what  time  he  arrived — all  these  things 
beyond  a  peradventure  did  the  fatal  mileage  book 
prove.  And,  place  for  place,  date  for  date,  they 
corresponded  with  the  robberies  of  the  laboratories. 

Now  came  the  task  of  finding  the  stolen  metal. 
During  his  earlier  investigations  Corporal  Davies  had 
not  only  determined  that  Cohen  was  a  bigamist,  but 
had  discovered  both  wives  and  their  families,  one  in 
Philadelphia,  one  in  New  York.  The  first  woman 
Cohen  had  deserted  long  before.  The  second  now 
affirmed  that  he  had  ceased  to  provide  for  her  and  that 
she  had  no  knowledge  of  how  he  disposed  of  his  loot. 

Unable  to  secure  information  from  this  source,  the 
corporal  next  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  began  a 
tour  of  the  thief's  haunts.  In  Harrisburg,  at  the  hotel 
frequented  by  Cohen,  he  talked  to  the  various  men 
of  his  type  who  were  stopping  there  while  working 
ostensibly  as  book  agents  just  as  Cohen  had  done. 

From  these  men  the  trooper  learned  that  Cohen  had 
gambled  heavily  when  last  at  that  hotel,  had  run  out 
of  money  one  night,  and  had  telegraphed  his  wife  in 
New  York  for  a  hundred  dollars,  which  sum,  further- 
more, had  duly  arrived. 

"The  wife  lied  to  me,"  thought  Davies.  "I  was 
mistaken  in  her."  And  he  returned  to  New  York. 

But  again  the  woman  swore  that  she  knew  nothing 


1 68  Justice  to  All 

of  the  whole  affair,  and  again  the  trooper  felt  that  she 
spoke  the  truth. 

Then  he  went  to  the  general  manager  of  the  tele- 
graph company  through  which  Cohen's  message  was 
sent,  and  in  an  interview  explained  the  case.  The 
general  manager,  tracing  the  telegram,  found  that  it 
had  gone  to  one  who  shall  be  called  Einstein,  at  an  ad- 
dress far  north  in  New  York  City, — found,  further,  that 
Einstein  had  at  different  times  telegraphed  to  Cohen 
many  other  hundreds  of  dollars, — a  fact  that  pointed  to 
him  as  probably  Cohen's  fence. 

Betaking  himself  to  the  Bronx  address,  the  corporal 
discovered  Einstein  as  the  proprietor  of  a  jewelry  shop, 
and  as  the  living  picture  of  "Fagin, "  manner,  face,  and 
mind.  This  unpleasing  being,  flatly  accused  of  buying 
stolen  platinum,  quite  naturally  flew  into  a  rage. 

That  he  had  often  telegraphed  money  to  Cohen  he 
freely  admitted,  but  that  he  had  bought  platinum, 
No !  By  all  that  no  one  wants  to  hear,  No ! 

While  Einstein  yet  stormed  and  threatened,  another 
man  strolled  into  the  shop.  This  was  a  brother-in-law 
of  the  jeweler,  as  his  first  words  betrayed.  And  no 
sooner  did  the  newcomer  grasp  what  was  afoot  than  he 
too  blazed  into  wrath. 

"Why  don't  you  kill  him,  Einstein?"  he  shrieked. 
"You  come  now  once  over  into  my  shop  and  I  kill 
you  mine  selluf!"  and  he  shook  a  grimy  fist  in  the 
corporal's  face. 

"All  right,"  acquiesced  the  corporal  cheerfully. 
"Come  along."  And,  who  shall  say  under  what  spell, 
the  man  turned  and  led  the  officer  to  his  own  door, 
where  his  rage  suddenly  blew  away. 

But  Corporal  Davies  had  seen  all  that  he  wanted  to 
see — the  man's  name,  painted  on  the  shop  window. 


Horse  Thieves,  Robbers,  and  Wrath  169 

Then  he  went  to  a  place  within  his  knowledge  where 
much  platinum  is  bought,  and  found  that  this  same 
fellow  had  been  regularly  bringing  platinum  there  for 
sale,  although  he  had  not,  of  course,  risked  offering 
in  one  place  the  entire  $30,000  worth  of  the  metal  that 
was  the  sum  of  Cohen's  pickings. 

The  identity  of  the  fence's  agent  being  now  estab- 
lished, the  rest  was  easy.  It  only  meant  the  exami- 
nation of  New  York's  eleven  thousand  and  odd  jewelry 
shops,  in  addition  to  the  assayers'  offices,  the  refining 
companies,  the  manufacturing  companies,  and  the 
pawnbrokers. 

"The  chief  of  police  of  New  York  was  most  kind," 
says  the  corporal,  "and  offered  me  help.  But  I  knew 
that  the  New  York  police  had  troubles  of  their  own,  so 
I  started  out  alone  to  see  these  people." 

The  sequel  is  an  amusing  tale,  but  not  a  short  one! 
It  lasted  about  two  months  and  ended  in  the  identifica- 
tion of  many  and  many  a  deposit  of  the  plundered 
treasure. 

When  Cohen  came  to  trial,  he  vehemently  and 
steadily  protested  innocence,  and  as  the  prosecution's 
case  was  entirely  circumstantial,  the  outcome  looked 
cloudy  until  at  the  very  last  moment  a  seeming  trifle  in 
a  flash  cast  the  die. 

The  trifle  was  merely  the  judge's  conventional  direct 
question  to  the  prisoner  as  to  his  guilt.  At  the  word, 
Cohen,  who  had  hitherto  exhibited  stoic  calm,  suddenly 
lost  all  control  of  himself  and  burst  into  a  furious  tirade 
against  the  State  Police. 

"They  are  Cossacks!"  he  raged.  "They  are  brutal, 
tyrannous  Cossacks!  They  are  an  outrage  in  the  land. 
It  is  against  all  principles  of  Americanism  that  these 
men  should  be  allowed  to  go  about  like  King's  messen- 


170  Justice  to  All 

gers  and  operate  outside  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania!" 
And  so,  in  his  fury  against  the  hand  that  had  tripped 
him,  he  poured  out  freely  all  his  guilt,  and  was  properly 
sentenced  according  to  his  deserts. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    PHILADELPHIA    CAR    STRIKE 

IN  February,  1910,  came  the  famous  "  Philadelphia 
Car  Strike, "  in  whose  history  was  presented  so  clear 
an  object-lesson  of  the  right  and  the  wrong  ways  of 
doing  things  that  the  blindest  honest  witness  did  not 
escape  conviction. 

Six  thousand  employees  of  the  Philadelphia  Rapid 
Transit  Company  went  out  on  strike.  The  upheaval 
thereby  occasioned  quickly  developed  conditions  in- 
cubative of  disorder.  Irresponsible  gangs  of  roughs, 
rowdies,  and  hooligan  boys,  commonly  described  as 
"not  strikers  but  strike  sympathizers"  added  them- 
selves to  the  element  for  mischief -making ;  and  soon, 
with  a  nucleus  of  not  over  six  thousand  actual  strikers,  a 
situation  existed  that  Philadelphia's  fifty-three  hundred 
city  policemen  proved  utterly  unable  to  control. 

The  "State  Fencibles,"  a  militia  organization  called 
to  their  support,  made  so  effective  an  impression  that 
the  mob  at  first  amused  itself  by  cutting  the  buttons 
off  their  coats,  hanging  pretzels  on  their  bayonets, 
taking  their  rifles  away  from  them ;  then,  it  is  said,  it 
kissed  the  Fencibles  themselves  and  threw  them  through 
the  shop  windows.  Soon,  however,  its  fickle  humor 
darkened,  with  results  so  unnerving  to  its  object  that 
the  Director  of  Public  Safety  felt  obliged  to  interpose  a 
protecting  hand.  "In  accordance  with  the  Director's 
order"  chronicled  the  Evening  Telegraph,  two  days 

171 


172  Justice  to  All 

later,  "the  Fencibles  have  been  recuperating  in  their 
armory,  since  they  were  rescued  by  the  police  from  a 
mob.  .  .  ." 

Disorder,  riot,  and  destruction  of  property  grew 
apace,  and  with  it  was  unceasingly  demonstrated  the 
hopeless  inadequacy  of  the  city's  means  to  meet  her 
need.  At  last,  late  in  the  afternoon  of  February  23d, 
a  pitched  battle  was  fought  at  the  Baldwin  Locomotive 
Works,  four  blocks  from  the  City  Hall.  In  this  affray 
"  the  entire  police  reserves, "  to  quote  the  New  York 
World's  despatch,  "were  driven  in  rout  to  the  stockade 
within  the  City  Hall  courtyard.  The  city  police  then 
admitted  that  they  could  no  longer  cope  with  the 
situation."  As  showing  the  detailed  color  of  the 
affair,  the  World's  full  despatch  is  valuable.  It  runs 
as  follows: 


The  "battle  of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,"  as  it  is 
called,  assumed  the  proportions  of  a  heavy  skirmish.  It 
took  place  during  the  noon  lunch  hours,  when  employees 
of  the  locomotive  plant  attacked  a  street  car.  The  motor- 
man  was  knocked  senseless  by  a  blow  from  a  rock  and  the 
car  demolished. 

Several  hundred  police  reserves  starting  from  the  City 
Hall  were  ranged  in  an  extended  line  down  Broad  Street. 
The  mob  of  several  thousand  collected  about  the  locomotive 
works,  hurled  brickbats  and  jeered.  Then  from  the  win- 
dows of  the  works  there  descended  upon  the  heads  of  the 
police  a  hail  of  iron  missiles  of  all  descriptions,  knocking 
many  down  and  injuring  them. 

The  police  reply  was  not  an  effort  to  terrify  but  an 
attack  to  kill.  They  fired  their  revolvers  pointblank 
through  the  windows  of  the  shops.  Pedestrians  ran  for 
safety  and  the  entire  neighborhood  was  in  an  uproar. 

From  behind  the  protecting  brick  walls  the  sympathizers 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike          173 

sent  another  rain  of  iron  nuts,  bolts,  and  bars,  heavy  enough, 
had  they  struck,  fairly  to  have  crushed  the  skulls  of  their 
victims. 

At  the  first  fire  of  the  police  scores  of  windows  in 
the  plant  were  broken,  but  the  iron  rain  continued  to 
fall.  Men  on  the  upper  floors  of  the  building  exposed 
themselves  and  derided  the  marksmanship  of  their 
enemies. 

Supt.  Vauclain  of  the  locomotive  works  went  among 
his  men  ordering  them  back  to  their  work.  This  brought 
a  truce,  but  it  did  not  last  long.  The  men  were  in  too  ugly 
a  mood  to  desist,  and  soon  many  left  the  works  and  formed 
a  mob  in  the  streets. 

Then,  to  the  consternation  of  the  police,  several  street 
cars  appeared  and  tried  to  run  the  blockade.  The  situation 
was  as  ugly  as  any  since  the  trouble  began.  The  men  all 
carried  stones  or  iron  bars,  and  the  blood  showed  in  their 
faces  as  they  grimly  but  quietly  advanced. 

The  first  attack  on  the  cars  was  a  shower  of  stones  from 
the  front  ranks,  and  then  the  iron  mob  charged,  their  howls 
being  heard  for  blocks,  intermingled  with  the  cracking  of  the 
policemen's  revolvers  and  the  occasional  shrieks  as  a  skull 
was  cracked. 

The  rioters,  pressing  back  the  police,  surged  over  the 
car  platforms.  Policemen  aboard  were  hurled  bodily  out 
into  the  crowd.  One  of  them  fired  his  revolver  as  he  fell, 
striking  one  of  his  assailants  in  the  leg. 

The  reserves  had  now  arrived.  The  two  bodies  clashed 
angrily,  the  police  firing  revolvers  and  striking  about 
savagely  with  their  clubs.  For  ten  minutes  they  surged 
back  and  forth  in  the  street,  clubbing  and  cursing,  begrimed 
with  dirt  as  they  rolled  about  in  the  road,  each  side  des- 
perately refusing  to  give  ground.  : 

Then  the  tide  turned  suddenly,  in  favor  of  the  rioters. 
The  men  within  the  locomotive  works  again  appeared  at  the 
windows  and  sent  their  storm  of  iron  missiles.  The  police- 
men were  outnumbered.  The  assailants  were  like  bull- 


174  Justice  to  All 

dogs.  They  did  not  know  enough  to  quit.  Reinforcements 
were  all  that  could  conquer  them. 

Again  and  again  revolvers  spit  flames,  smoke,  and  lead, 
but  the  crowds  kept  pressing  closer  and  closer,  and  the 
bluecoats  retreated  to  the  City  Hall.  .  .  . 

It  is  believed  that  many  were  wounded  in  the  fray,  as 
scores  had  to  be  helped  along  by  comrades.  No  policemen 
were  severely  injured,  but  many  were  roughly  handled. 

RESULTS  To  DATE 

2  disinterested  citizens  killed. 

3  dying  of  their  injuries. 
15  persons  injured. 

Over  one  thousand  persons  arrested. 

36  indictments  issued  by  the  Grand  Jury. 

C.  O.  Pratt,  strikers'  leader,  arrested. 

A  sympathizer  named  Carr  sentenced  to  six  years'  im- 
prisonment for  striking  a  policeman  and  one  year  for  inciting 
a  riot. 

Several  others  sentenced  to  terms  of  from  two  to  five 
years. 

More  than  700  cars  wrecked. 

Over  5000  car  windows  smashed. 

Labor  leaders  claim  6000  men  are  out.  The  company 
admits  4000. 

Ordinarily  2200  cars  are  working.  The  union  claims  that 
only  152  were  worked  yesterday.  The  company  says  628. 

Philadelphia  police  muster  3300  men.  The  number 
has  been  increased  to  5300. 

The  State  Fencibles  have  been  called  out  and  the  public 
has  humiliated  them,  chasing  them  through  the  streets. 

Dynamite  has  been  used  to  destroy  cars  and  an  attempt 
has  been  made  on  one  car  barn. 

Free  fights  in  the  streets  have  changed  into  deliberate 
pitched  battles  between  the  police  and  the  sympathizers 
with  the  strikers. 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike          175 

The  police  have  ceased  to  fire  their  revolvers  into  the 
air  and  are  aiming  point  blank  at  their  assailants. 

The  State  Mounted  Police  from  the  coal  regions,  hated 
and  dreaded,  known  as  the  Black  Hussars,  are  to  encamp 
at  dawn  this  morning  at  the  City  Hall.  They  fire  to  kill 
and  carry  automatic  guns. 

And  the  same  paper  chronicles  the  furious  resentment 
voiced  by  Murphy,  president  of  the  Central  Labor 
Union,  of  the  State's  temerity  in  daring  to  regard  him 
and  his  friends  as  subject  to  her  authority. 

He  [Murphy]  now  declares  that  the  instant  the  Black 
Hussars  make  their  appearance  on  the  city's  streets  he  will 
call  out  his  100,000  men  and  inaugurate  the  bitterest  strike 
that  any  city  in  the  country  has  ever  experienced.  "My 
threats  have  been  bluff, "  he  said,  as  he  stormed  into  the 
labor  headquarters  at  7  o'clock.  "To-morrow  I  will  show 
them  that  I  mean  business." 

The  Director  of  Public  Safety  and  the  Superintendent 
of  City  Police  had  already  called  on  Governor  Stuart  to 
turn  out  the  National  Guard,  but  the  Governor,  object- 
ing that  such  a  course  was  at  once  costly  and  unneces- 
sary, had  offered  the  State  Police. 

"When  they  have  eaten  up  the  State  Police,"  said 
he,  "then  I  will  give  you  the  Guard. " 

No  small  amount  of  jeering  criticism  had  stigmatized 
the  folly  of  this  proposal  of  a  body  of  less  than  two 
hundred  strangers  to  handle  a  condition  that  had  de- 
fied, worn  out,  and  beaten  thirty-three  hundred  trained 
officers,  heavily  reenforced  and  on  their  own  terrain. 
But,  with  the  victorious  howls  of  the  mob  ringing 
through  the  chambers  of  the  City  Hall,  the  Mayor  of 
the  city  dared  wait  no  longer.  Out  of  the  midst  of  the 


176  Justice  to  All 

uproar,  on  the  afternoon  of  February  23d,  he  entreated 
the  Governor  to  make  good  his  offer. 

Then  came  a  demonstration  of  what  mobility  means. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  the  order  reached  the 
four  barracks,  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  State.  From 
the  four  barracks  an  order  instantly  sped  to  all  the 
far-scattered  substations,  calling  in  the  men.  Some 
of  those  men  had  sixty  miles  to  ride  before  they  could 
join  their  Troops.  But  at  six  o'clock  on  that  night  of 
the  23d,  "A"  Troop,  at  Greensburg,  in  the  western 
end  of  the  State,  was  entraining.  At  half  after  six 
"B"  Troop  was  marching  through  the  Wilkes-Barre 
streets  to  the  railway  station,  through  double  ranks  of 
cheering  townsmen.  By  midnight  all  four  Troops  were 
off,  and  at  five  o'clock  next  morning,  or  not  over  twelve 
hours  from  the  hour  of  the  call,  the  entire  squadron 
was  on  duty  in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia.  Every 
trooper  was  there  excepting  only  such  as  were  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  guard  the  State's  property  and  look 
after  raw  recruits  in  barracks.  And  they  numbered 
one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  men. 

At  a  conference  of  the  city  authorities,  held  the 
night  before,  and  at  which  the  Superintendent  of  State 
Police  was  not  present,  the  Director  of  Public  Safety 
and  his  police  captains  had  with  great  pains  mapped 
out  a  plan  dividing  the  State  Police  squadron  into  small 
detachments  of  eight  or  ten  men,  and  assigning  one  or 
two  of  these  detachments  to  each  ward  in  the  city. 
The  plan  was  so  elaborated  as  even  to  fix  the  hours  at 
which  the  several  details  would  go  on  and  come  off  duty. 

After  their  conference,  those  conferring  sent  for 
the  Superintendent  of  State  Police,  acquainted  him 
with  the  arrangement,  and  were  considerably  surprised 
by  his  absolute  refusal  to  accept  it. 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike          177 

I  realized  [says  the  Superintendent]  the  danger  that  would 
lie  in  my  men's  working  with  city  police,  under  divided  au- 
thority and  with  no  one  really  responsible  for  any  mistakes 
that  might  occur.  When  they  asked  me  what  I  would 
do,  I  said  that  if  they  would  give  me  a  certain  section  of  the 
city,  not  too  large  to  be  covered  by  one  hundred  and  eighty 
men,  they  could  take  all  their  men  off  the  streets  at  eight 
o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  I  would  be  responsible  for  the 
maintenance  of  law  and  order  in  my  section.  I  knew 
exactly  what  part  of  the  city  they  would  give  me,  Kensing- 
ton, where  they  had  had  the  most  trouble — and  they  did. 

Kensington  was  the  heart  of  the  manufacturing  re- 
gion, and  the  seat  of  the  greatest  and  most  obstinate 
violence.  The  city  police  needed  a  rest,  it  was  said. 

Those  who  witnessed  the  entry  of  the  squadron  into 
that  riot-mad  place  say  that  the  scene  was  like  a  dream. 
The  Superintendent  himself  led  the  line,  which  ad- 
vanced at  a  walk,  in  column  of  twos.  Looking  neither 
to  right  nor  to  left,  not  a  flicker  of  nervous  tension  on 
their  strong,  stern  faces,  the  men  followed  pair  on  pair, 
lean,  lithe,  panther-built,  perfect  specimens  of  the 
finest  physical  type,  each  one,  sitting  their  horses  like 
the  centaurs  they  were. 

Black! — Black! — The  somber  uniform,  the  dark 
helmets  from  under  whose  low  visors  gleamed  eyes 
that  never  quail,  the  big,  black  holsters,  hanging  heavy 
from  the  full  cartridge  belt — and,  at  each  saddle  bow, 
a  pair  of  shining  handcuffs,  ready.  They  had  not 
brought  their  carbines.  "We  don't  need  them  here," 
said  the  leader  of  that  hardy  little  band. 

As  they  moved  toward  the  streets  of  Kensington,  a 
whisper  moved  before  them  like  the  wind  in  the  trees. 

"The  Black  Hussars!"  it  shivered.  "The  Black 
Hussars!11 

12 


178  Justice  to  All 

And  at  the  whisper,  in  advance  of  the  slow  advancing 
column,  the  streets  emptied.  "The  men  might  have 
been  so  many  mounted  genii,"  wrote  one  observer, 
' '  so  quickly  was  their  quieting  presence  felt.  * '  Without 
a  word  spoken,  a  command  uttered,  or  an  eye  turned, 
the  crowd  that  had  flocked  out  to  curse  and  rail  and 
stone  fell  back  in  silence,  was  absorbed  into  the  alleys, 
into  the  houses,  disappeared  from  sight  as  though  the 
earth  had  swallowed  it  up.  Silently  the  squadron 
moved  through  Sunday  streets.  Here  and  there  a 
window  shutter  or  a  curtain  moved,  as  hidden  eyes 
peered  from  within.  Even  the  horses,  filing  past, 
drove  their  moral  home.  These  were  no  sleek,  fat, 
showy  city  mounts,  but  the  small,  wise,  wiry,  plains- 
man's  breed,  sharp  and  hard  in  long,  thick,  winter  coats 
that  spoke  the  habit  of  rough,  steady  work  in  harsh  and 
open  country.  For  business,  they,  and  more  than  up 
to  their  business,  which  was  not  decoration. 

As  the  squadron  rode  farther  into  the  heart  of  the 
district,  one  of  a  rowdy  crowd  of  "sympathizers"  looking 
down  from  the  windows  of  a  tall  factory  flung  a  heavy 
steel  bolt,  striking  a  trooper  in  the  back.  The  assailant 
instantly  ducked  out  of  sight,  yet  not  quickly  enough 
to  escape  the  eye  of  the  officer  next  the  man  attacked. 
Vaulting  out  of  his  saddle,  that  officer  made  straight 
into  the  factory  and,  striding  alone  through  its  crowded 
halls,  up  several  flights  of  stairs,  reached  the  floor  from 
which  the  bolt  was  thrown.  With  one  glance  at  the 
mass  of  glowering  humanity  packed  in  the  room,  his 
practiced  eye  singled  out  his  man.  As  unconscious  ap- 
parently of  every  other  creature  present  as  if  such  did 
not  exist,  he  gathered  that  one  man  into  his  grip,  firmly 
propelling  him  through  the  throngs  of  his  mates,  down 
and  out  of  the  building,  and  into  permanent  custody. 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike          179 

A  day  before,  the  throwing  of  that  bolt  would  have 
meant  riot  and  bloodshed.  Now,  not  a  finger  was 
raised,  not  a  voice  heard  to  resist  the  arrest. 

That  the  Force  might  be  near  its  allotted  work 
Captain  Groome  decided  to  quarter  the  men  and  horses 
in  the  car  barn  at  Eighth  and  Dauphin  Streets  in  the 
heart  of  the  Kensington  district r  although  the  building 
was  but  ill  adapted  for  the  use.  Here,  however, 
hitching  posts  were  driven  for  the  horses,  while  the 
officers,  for  their  scanty  hours  of  sleep,  found  space 
in  the  company's  office  and  the  troopers  were  given 
shakedowns  of  straw  on  the  floor. 

Divided  into  small  groups,  the  squadron  was  scattered 
over  the  disturbed  district,  whose  area  was  so  great,  com- 
pared to  the  size  of  the  Force  and  the  vigilance  required, 
that  each  trooper  was  compelled  to  remain  on  duty 
eighteen  hours  a  day.  A  number  of  arrests  were  made 
during  the  first  day,  and  some  misconceptions  arose 
for  adjustment.  Then  quiet  set  in,  to  remain  almost 
unbroken. 

From  this  day  cars  were  run  throughout  the  district 
regularly,  with  perfect  safety,  and  without  the  necessity, 
on  the  part  of  the  details,  of  any  resort  to  extremes. 
A  canard  found  its  way  into  the  newspapers  to  the 
effect  that  the  State  Police  had  once  or  twice  fired  a 
volley  at  the  mob.  This  story,  however,  was  com- 
pletely without  foundation.  Not  a  single  shot  was 
fired  by  the  Force  during  the  entire  tour  of  duty. 

During  the  earlier  days  of  the  strike,  persons  arrested 
as  implicated  in  its  disorders  were  sent  to  the  local 
magistrates'  courts  in  the  districts  in  which  the  arrests 
had  been  made.  This  resulted  in  the  discharge  of  a 
large  number  of  prisoners,  owing  to  the  local  prejudice 
of  the  courts  in  which  their  hearings  were  held.  The 


i8o  Justice  to  All 

police  were  then  ordered  to  bring  all  prisoners  arrested 
in  connection  with  the  strike  to  the  central  police 
station  at  City  Hall. 

For  days  and  nights  thereafter  this  station  was 
crowded  with  battered  strikers  and  strike  sympathizers 
presenting  an  eloquent  exposition  of  one  aspect  of  the 
failure  of  the  local  authorities  to  maintain  the  peace. 
Some  very  severe  .penalties  were  imposed  upon  them, 
and  they  thus  suffered  heavily  in  their  own  persons, 
while  the  sum  of  their  acts  of  insensate  violence  utterly 
discredited  their  cause  in  the  public  mind. 

The  following  statement  is  that  of  one  of  the  city 
magistrates  of  Philadelphia,  based  on  personal  experi- 
ence and  observation  of  the  events  in  question: 

The  arrival  of  the  State  Police  in  Philadelphia  im- 
mediately acted  to  protect  the  strikers  and  their  sympathiz- 
ers from  themselves.  Disorder,  and  therefore  the  number 
of  arrests,  decreased  almost  instantly.  No  greater  aid 
could  have  been  brought  to  the  strikers*  cause.  The 
general  public,  seeing  no  more  bloodshed  and  riot,  was  led 
to  infer  that  the  labor  people  were  now  conducting  their 
strike  in  a  lawful  and  orderly  manner.  Public  disfavor 
began  to  wane.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  State  Police,  a 
striker  or  a  strike  sympathizer  was  tempted  to  commit 
crime,  risking  a  jail  sentence  and  disgrace  to  his  family, 
because  he  realized  that  the  local  authorities  did  not  and 
could  not  control  him.  After  the  arrival  of  the  State 
Police,  the  same  man,  realizing  that  he  was  now  under 
thorough  control,  and  sensible  of  the  prevailing  atmosphere 
of  order,  was  strongly  inclined  to  conduct  himself  accord- 
ingly. The  cause  of  labor  lost  nothing  but  public  antago- 
nism by  the  advent  of  the  State  Police. 

Philadelphia  had  never  seen  the  Force  before  except 
on  the  two  occasions  when  it  had  been  summoned  to 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike          181 

grace  a  festival.    The  Philadelphia  North  American 
on  the  day  after  the  squadron's  arrival,  said: 

Their  first  appearance  here  on  any  serious  business 
awakened  for  them  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the 
whole  town.  ...  No  sooner  had  they  trotted  into  position 
than  they  became  the  observed  of  all  observers.  .  .  . 
They  sat  their  saddles  with  a  quiet  force  that  stirred  a  glint 
of  admiration  in  almost  every  eye  that  took  them  in.  ... 
They  were  quiet  and  steady  and  pleasant  to  talk  to,  and  they 
did  not  do  any  boasting.  ...  In  the  district  which  they 
patrolled  all  day  there  was  not  the  slightest  outbreak,  and 
by  nightfall  the  State  Police  had  inculcated  a  very  friendly 
and  wholesome  respect  among  their  observers.  It  was 
generally  felt  with  something  like  the  conviction  that  is 
born  of  respectful  fear  that  to  monkey  with  one  of  these 
strong  and  steady-looking  chaps  was  to  be  playing  with  the 
proverbial  buzz-saw. 

These  men  are  noted  for  the  accuracy  and  despatch  with 
which  they  do  business.  They  are  cool,  but  when  they 
get  started  they  move  like  a  shot ;  and  when  it  is  necessary 
to  shoot  they  do  it  without  the  slightest  hesitation.  .  .  . 
They  have  come  to  camp  here  in  the  interest  of  law  and 
order;  if  you  doubt  their  ability  to  swing  things  as  they 
want  them  to  be  swung,  just  journey  up  to  the  district 
they  are  patrolling  and  look  one  of  them  in  the  eye. 

You  won't  make  any  impolite  remarks  to  him. 

Next  day  the  same  paper  confirms  its  view  and 
adds: 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  black-coated  police  seem  to  have 
made  a  very  favorable  impression.  Very  few  people  have 
harsh  words  to  utter  about  them,  for  in  the  few  arrests 
they  have  been  forced  to  make  they  have  carried  themselves 
coolly  and  sensibly. 


1 82  Justice  to  All 

The  Philadelphia  Ledger  of  the  26th,  commented: 

Spectators  in  the  City  Hall  police  court  yesterday  were 
favorably  impressed  by  the  soldierly  appearance  and 
bearing  of  the  State  Policemen  .  .  .  who  were  called  as 
witnesses  in  strike  cases.  None  of  the  men  wasted  words  in 
describing  the  scenes  which  had  led  him  to  make  an  arrest 
but  told  his  story  in  a  businesslike,  straightforward  way. 

Said  the  New  York  Sun's  despatch  of  the  same  date: 

Captain  Jack  Groome's  cavalrymen  .  .  .  had  such  a 
dull  day  that  they  were  yawning  on  the  backs  of  their 
horses.  They  came  here  expecting  real  trouble.  .  .  . 
They  went  at  the  work  coolly  and  good  humoredly.  They 
met  practically  no  resistance. 

Prompt  and  summary  action  by  these  men,  backed  up 
by  their  reputation,  .  .  .  created  a  wholesome  respect  for 
their  prowess.  They  have  a  reputation  of  getting  the  man 
they  go  after.  They  showed  several  times  this  afternoon 
how  they  do  it. 

A  youth  in  Germantown  Avenue  was  foolish  enough 
to  shout  bad  names  at  one  of  the  troopers.  He  was  told 
twice  to  keep  his  mouth  shut,  but,  encouraged  by  the  ap- 
plause of  the  crowd,  he  finally  uttered  a  nasty  remark  that 
made  the  trooper  leap  from  his  horse. 

The  constable  went  at  the  crowd,  diving  like  a  fullback 
with  ten  yards  to  gain  on  the  first  down.  He  ripped  into 
the  throng  with  feet  and  elbows  and  yanked  the  youth 
from  a  cigar  store  where  he  had  taken  refuge.  The  crowd 
swirled  excitedly  but  -nobody  lifted  a  hand  to  rescue  the 
young  man.  Meanwhile  the  trooper's  horse  stood  rigidly 
where  he  had  been  left,  the  bridle  rein  hanging  over  his 
neck.  The  constable  turned  his  prisoner  over  to  a  city 
cop  and  the  man  was  dumped  into  a  patrol  wagon. 

All  the  papers  were  now  filled  with  picturesque 
stories  of  the  cheerful  adventures  of  the  "Black  Hus- 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike         183 

sars."  In  these  stories,  the  clever  little  horses  played 
almost  as  large  a  part  as  did  the  troopers  themselves. 
Wise  and  gentle,  loyal  and  quick  as  Kipling's  Maltese 
Cat,  they  could  not  but  melt  the  inmost  heart  of  any 
creature  with  a  man's  heart  in  him. 

Meantime  a  feeling  of  admiration  and  of  unwilling 
liking  was  growing  in  the  minds  of  the  people  for  the 
kindly  riders  whose  quiet,  as  they  shrewdly  knew,  was 
the  quiet  of  the  poised  lance.  In  the  susceptible 
breast  of  the  Kensington  small  boy,  father  of  the  man, 
was  already  flaming  a  new  and  revolutionary  emotion. 
No  longer  did  he  want  to  grow  up  to  be  as  Joe 
O'Rourke,  Kensington's  baseball  light,  still  less  to  be 
as  his  hero  of  yesterday,  John  J.  Murphy,  president  of 
the  Central  Labor  Union,  or  even  the  carmen's  leader, 
Pratt.  With  his  whole  soul  he  now  passionately 
yearned  towards  a  far  more  splendid  star.  Henceforth 
he  would  be  nothing  less  than  a  "Cossack" — a  Black 
Hussar. 

The  Philadelphia  Telegraph,  marking  this  symptom, 
said: 

Reins  hang  loosely  on  arched  necks,  the  horses  of  the 
State  Police  pick  their  way  along  the  streets  of  the  North- 
east, while  the  grim  riders  look  out  quietly  over  their  black 
chinstraps.  On  the  pavements  which  a  few  days  ago  were 
given  up  to  a  riotous  mob  of  men  and  boys,  stand  groups 
watching  with  interest  the  black-garbed  riders.  The 
boys  of  ten  to  fourteen  who  once  threw  bricks  with  deadly 
aim  at  the  street  cars  and  at  the  city  police,  mounted  and 
foot,  throw  no  longer.  Instead  they  watch  the  strange 
guardians  of  the  peace  with  a  curious  mixture  of  respect, 
admiration,  and  awe.  .  .  .  The  boy  who  can  talk  to  a 
trooper  for  even  a  minute,  even  to  the  extent  of  telling 
him  where  Germantown  Avenue  is,  is  to  be  envied  for  days. 


1 84  Justice  to  All 

Imagine  then,  if  you  can,  the  bliss  of  a  youth  who  is  per- 
mitted to  hold  a  trooper's  horse. 

This  morning,  at  Germantown  and  Lehigh  Avenues,  a 
trooper  rode  slowly  along  near  the  curb.  He  dismounted 
for  a  moment  to  stretch  his  legs,  and  his  horse,  trained  by 
long  months  of  discipline,  stood  stock  still. 

"Kin  I  hold  him  for  a  minnit?"  asked  one  little  red- 
headed fellow,  and  the  trooper  nodded.  For  five  blissful 
minutes  Reddy  held^  the  horse.  Then  the  trooper  came 
back,  thanked  the  boy,  and  swung  up. 

"Say,  Mister,  I'd  like  to  ask  you  one  t'ing, "  shrilled  the 
boy.  "How  old  do  you  hafter  be  to  join  dat  bunch?" 
"Thinking  of  joining?"  asked  the  trooper.  "Sure  I'd 
join.  I'll  be  fifteen  next  month.  Do  you  think  I  could 
get  in  a  couple  of  years  from  now? "  "We'd  be  glad  to  have 
you, "  politely  replied  the  trooper. 

The  horse  moved  slowly  away  and  a  crowd  of  boys 
gathered  around  the  new  hero.  He  was  the  most  earnestly 
envied,  hated,  and  admired  boy  uptown  for  the  rest  of  the 
day. 

Meantime,  up-State  in  the  Troops'  home  districts,  the 
people  were  asking  with  proprietary  jealousy  whether 
Philadelphia  grasped  the  value  of  the  sacrifice  that  the 
State  was  making  in  her  behalf.  A  characteristic 
expression  was  that  of  the  Pottsville  Journal  of  the 
26th: 

We  say  with  a  degree  of  pride  that  no  finer  body  of  men 
ever  sat  a  horse  than  the  State  Police  of  Pennsylvania. 
They  are  clean,  healthy  Americans,  picked  men,  trained  to 
fight  with  arm  and  brain.  No  roughs  or  bullies,  no  "  booze- 
fighters,"  no  gamblers,  find  a  place  in  the  ranks  of  the 
"Black  Hussars."  Every  man  must  come  up  to  a  certain 
moral  standard,  and  the  standard  is  high.  He  must  con- 
secrate himself  to  duty,  to  the  life  of  a  soldier  of  the  law 
ready  to  ride  and  fight  at  the  command  of  the  State. 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike          185 

Then  the  home  paper  rises  triumphant : 

When  the  State  Police  rode  the  streets  of  Philadelphia 
the  people  looked  upon  them  not  with  hatred  but  with 
respect.  Why?  Simply  because  they  recognized  in  them 
a  force  that  stood  for  the  law  and  only  the  law.  Politics 
do  not  touch  the  State  Police,  and  neither  does  the  power  of 
the  corporations.  The  Philadelphia  papers  say  that  the 
State  Police  were  even  inclined  to  be  affable  and  that  they 
chatted  pleasantly  when  addressed  by  anyone  in  the  crowd, 
but  that  when  occasion  arose  for  sternness  they  were  quick 
to  act.  And  that  is  just  the  way  we  have  always  found  the 
State  Police.  They  are  not  a  lot  of  swaggering  bullies 
but  men  who  are  pleasant  and  agreeable,  men  in  whose 
faces  there  are  no  marks  of  dissipation,  men  whose  eyes  are 
clear,  bright  with  the  light  of  clean  and  healthy  living, 
men  who  have  been  trained  to  face  perils  and  to  die  if 
need  be  without  a  whimper — to  die  most  gloriously,  doing 
that  which  is  right  as  they  have  been  taught  to  see  it. 

Said  the  Philadelphia  Ledger  later: 

It  is  not  their  horsemanship,  not  their  revolvers  or  their 
riot  sticks,  that  makes  this  handful  of  men  a  terror  to  riotous 
law-breakers,  an  offense  to  enemies  of  the  social  order,  and 
an  assurance  of  safety  to  peaceful  citizens.  They  represent 
no  class  or  condition,  no  prejudice  or  interest,  nothing  but 
the  sovereign  majesty  of  law.  Hostility  to  them  is  hostility 
to  the  people,  whose  authority  they  represent.  .  .  .  We 
need  at  all  times,  and  especially  in  times  of  disturbance,  to 
keep  this  cine  thought  uppermost  in  our  minds,  that  the 
source  of  all  authority,  the  foundation  of  our  liberty,  the 
assurance  of  our  safety,  is  not  in  the  utterances  of  any  men, 
be  they  wise  or  foolish,  but  in  the  government  of  law,  which 
the  people  have  established,  and  which  every  one  of  us  owes 
his  best  service  to  maintain.  Men,  parties,  and  factions 
come  and  go ;  there  remain  for  our  unshaken  allegiance  the 
name  and  authority  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 


1 86  Justice  to  All 

The  Philadelphia  Telegraph  of  March  1st  gave  a 
striking  evidence  of  the  sincerity  of  its  own  feeling  as  to 
the  service  of  the  Force  to  the  city,  in  an  original 
proposition.  Recognizing  the  need  of  an  increased 
city  police,  it  says,  editorially: 

Instead  of  augmenting  the  present  force,  would  it  not 
mean  a  greater  gain  in  efficiency  to  make  Philadelphia  the 
station  for  two,  or  even  one,  squadron  of  State  Police, 
whose  efficiency  and  ability  have  been  tested  and  not 
found  wanting?  ...  In  place  of  making  an  appropriation 
for  local  police,  we  suggest  that  the  city  authorities  ask  the 
cooperation  of  the  State  in  the  institution  of  four  or  eight 
additional  troops  of  mounted  policemen.  .  .  .  The  expense 
of  maintaining  them  should  be  shared  by  municipal  and 
state  treasuries.  They  should,  of  course,  be  under  the 
immediate  command  of  the  State  Superintendent,  Captain 
John  C.  Groome,  but  utilized  under  general  supervision  of 
the  local  Directors  of  Public  Safety  for  the  policing  of  the 
cities — Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg. 

We  suggest  .  .  .  that  the  pay  of  the  enlisted  men  be 
increased  from  $720  to  $1000  per  annum,  and  that  the 
remuneration  of  officers,  both  commissioned  and  non- 
commissioned, be  proportionately  increased.  By  such 
decent  pay  the  men  could  be  held  to  their  work,  and  it 
would  prevent  their  being  "lifted"  ...  by  corporate  or 
other  interests  cognizant  of  their  value. 

All  over  the  country  the  leaders  of  the  press  talked 
of  the  demonstration  in  Philadelphia  in  terms  maturely 
epitomized  by  the  New  York  Evening  Post's  editorial  of 
March  i8th: 

The  Philadelphia  street  railway  strike  ought  not  to 
slip  from  the  public  mind  without  attention  being  called 
again  to  one  highly  important  phase  of  the  battle  between 
order  and  disorder  in  the  city  streets.  We  refer  to  the 


The  Philadelphia  Car  Strike         187 

invaluable  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Constabulary. 
After  the  expected  failure  of  the  city's  police  to  control 
the  lawless,  and  the  pitiful  incapacity  of  a  battalion  of 
militia  to  patrol  one  street,  the  Constabulary  was  sent 
for.  .  .  .  The  arrival  of  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  of 
the  Constabulary  changed  the  entire  situation;  thereafter 
disorder  practically  ceased.  What  several  thousand  police- 
men had  failed  to  accomplish  they  did  in  a  twinkling,  and 
in  a  way  to  compel  the  enthusiastic  admiration  of  all 
beholders.  And  there  is  reason  for  the  difference.  The 
Constabulary  is  a  business  organization.  Although  em- 
ployed by  the  State,  it  knows  no  politics  in  its  make-up, 
or  in  the  execution  of  its  orders.  It  is  an  object-lesson 
to  the  entire  country,  because  it  proves  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  we  should  have,  as  a  nation,  the  worst  police  in 
the  world,  and  because  it  suggests,  to  all  who  stop  to  think, 
one  reason  why  Europe,  with  its  constabulary,  is  so  vastly 
more  law-abiding  than  the  United  States. 

When  the  bill  creating  this  force  was  passed  in  Harrisburg 
in  1905,  we  commented  upon  its  purport  as  one  of  the  most 
important  developments  in  American  government  of  recent 
years.  Everything  we  hoped  of  it  has  been  realized  and 
more  besides.  ...  It  is  the  cheapest  investment  that  the 
State  has  ever  made,  and  its  record  answers  every  excuse, 
wherever  made,  that  other  States  cannot  do  likewise  because 
of  lack  of  funds.  If  the  situation  is  but  studied,  it  will 
soon  be  found  that  no  State  can  afford  to  do  without  a 
similar  body.  .  .  .  New  York  and  every  other  State  should 
have  them. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

IN  DANGER,   NECESSITY,    AND   TRIBULATION 

IT  was  significant  of  the  thoroughness  of  the  change 
so  quickly  effected  in  Kensington's  line  of  thought  that 
when,  late  at  night  on  the  26th  of  February,  the  sheriff 
of  Northampton  County  sent  in  his  fourth  desperate 
reiteration  of  a  desperate  call  for  help,  Captain  Groome 
felt  that  he  could  spare  men.  Disturbances  in  the  train 
of  a  strike  of  the  employees  of  the  Bethlehem  Steel 
Works  had  swelled  completely  beyond  the  control  of 
the  local  authorities;  and  although  the  troopers  in 
Philadelphia  were  now  sorely  fagged  by  double  hours  of 
continuous  work,  their  commander  ordered  Captain 
Robinson  of  "B"  Troop  with  twenty-four  men  to 
South  Bethlehem. 

The  detail  left  Philadelphia  at  two  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  27th,  by  special  train;  and  Captain 
Robinson  on  his  arrival  reported  back  conditions  so 
serious  that  the  Superintendent,  within  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours,  reinforced  him  by  the  rest  of  the  Troop 
and  by  Troop  "D."  These  two  Troops  remained  in 
the  troubled  town  until  peace  was  insured,  April  2Oth, 
while  Troops  "A"  and  "C,"  left  in  Philadelphia, 
handled  their  district  easily,  and  on  March  1st  were 
released  to  return  to  barracks. 

Such  troubles  as  those  that  called  the  detail  to  South 
Bethlehem  are  commonly  semi-political  in  origin. 
Given,  to  start  with,  the  familiar  foundation — a 

188 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  189 

population  normally  hard-working  but  now  fallen  into 
an  abnormal  condition  of  irksome  idleness  with  its 
consequent  irritability — you  have  shortly  the  accretion 
of  disorderly  buccaneers  gathering  from  far.  You  have 
also,  and  always,  the  ignorant,  practically  non-English- 
speaking,  inflammable  foreign  element.  You  have 
next,  irresponsible  agitators  springing  up  in  the  midst 
or  congregating  from  without,  the  orators  of  vitriolic 
tongue;  and,  finally,  you  have  rum. — This  on  the  one 
hand. 

On  the  other  hand,  you  have  a  group  of  local  officials 
who  think  they  owe  their  places  as  officials,  and  who  do 
largely  owe  their  trade  as  shopkeepers  and  the  like,  to 
the  party  of  the  first  part.  This  fact,  or  this  impression, 
would  be  enough  to  throw  men  of  little  caliber  entirely 
to  the  side  of  the  mob,  no  matter  to  what  lengths  the 
mob  might  go,  but  for  one  thing — the  liability  of  the 
county  for  the  value  of  any  property  that  may  be 
destroyed  through  failure  to  provide  police  protection. 

By  this  consideration  is  raised  the  specter  of  another 
set  of  parishioners,  not  concerned  in  the  affairs  under 
dispute,  who  also  have  votes,  and  who  furthermore 
may  be  reckoned  on  most  bitterly  to  resent  a  sudden 
leap  in  county  taxes.  Furthermore,  the  tormented 
officials  know  all  too  well  that  no  one,  anywhere,  will 
revile  them  more  earnestly  and  unreasonably,  will 
cast  them  off  more  finally,  than  will  these  same  present 
rioters  when  the  day  of  madness  is  past  and  the  tax 
collector  comes  around. 

Torn  forever  between  the  two,  a  prey  to  fears  on  all 
sides,  the  unfortunate  officials  waver  hither  and  yon, 
and  nothing  that  they  do  ultimately  pleases  anyone. 
Lacking  entirely  the  conception  of  the  State  standing 
serene  above  all  strivings,  and  of  their  duty  of  service 


190  Justice  to  All 

to  her  alone,  they  see  only  the  sordid  figures  of  the 
combatants  fighting  in  the  mud.  Driven  to  act,  they 
timorously  venture  some  half-hearted  step.  Forthwith 
one  of  the  combatants  stops  fighting  long  enough  to 
land  a  fistful  of  mud  in  their  faces  for  their  pains. 
Instantly  they  gush  forth  terrified  apology,  and  fill 
the  local  papers  with  denials  that  they  could  have 
dreamed  of  doing  the  very  thing  they  did;  and  mean- 
time the  gutter-riot  grows,  while  the  vicious  circle 
repeats  its  ignoble  course. 

Just  as  the  coming  of  the  State  Police  inevitably 
means  a  summary  stop  to  all  this  thing,  so  the  coming 
of  the  State  Police  unfailingly  provides  a  rescue  to  the 
little  officials  huddled  panting  in  a  corner.  "Who 
summoned  these  upstart  rioting  strangers?"  they  cry 
out  like  a  stage  chorus.  "Who  wanted  these  Cossacks, 
these  presumptuous  invaders,  to  bring  trouble  to  our 
peaceful  town?  Not  I,  nor  I,  nor  I!"  as,  with  relaxing 
nerves,  they  join  to  unload  their  burden  on  the  broad 
shoulders  that  so  often  have  borne  it  before. 

Then  they  set  their  little  wits  to  work  to  invent 
Bluebeard  yarns  of  the  bloody  doings  of  the  State's  of- 
ficers— yarns  whose  blazing  if  sleazy  tissue  shall  prove 
at  least  the  good  heart  they  put  into  the  weave. 

If  officials  of  this  stripe  helped  on  the  turmoil  and 
delayed  the  work  of  peace  in  Bethlehem,  it  was  no 
new  thing.  And  the  tales  disseminated  there  showed 
no  new  effort  of  imagination.  That  affixed  to  Trooper 
Maughan,  for  example,  was  one  of  a  type  already  almost 
four  years  old.  It  is  so  characteristic  that  it  may  well 
be  outlined  here,  to  stand  as  a  specimen  of  its  class. 
The  facts  in  the  case  were  as  follows: 

As  Captain  Robinson's  little  detail  of  twenty-four 
men,  detraining,  rode  their  horses  at  a  walk  up  the 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  191 

Bethlehem  streets,  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of 
February,  a  hostile  and  belligerent  crowd,  apparently 
mostly  of  foreigners  and  many  thousand  strong, 
gathered  in  the  streets,  ever  growing.  Excited  by  their 
leaders,  they  began  hurling  missiles  to  emphasize  their 
jeers.  Standing  in  the  open,  or  hiding  behind  railway 
cars,  the  mob  soon  fairly  filled  the  air  with  flying  pro- 
jectiles,— bottles,  cobblestones,  bricks,  frozen  clods, 
lumps  of  ice, — anything  that  they  could  reach  or  carry. 
Nor  were  such  the  only  weapons  in  their  hands. 

"Hardware  stores  and  pawnshops  have  practically 
sold  their  stocks  of  revolvers  and  dirks, "  says  the  Phil- 
adelphia Inquirer's  despatch  of  the  day.  "  Practically 
every  other  person  on  the  street  carries  a  weapon  of 
some  sort." 

"All  the  stores  had  been  sold  out  of  revolvers  during 
the  day,  one  hardware  concern  having  disposed  of  two 
hundred,"  said  the  Ledger. 

Riding  slowly  through  the  throng,  unmoved  and 
unresponding,  lifting  not  a  finger  in  reprisal,  the  little 
detail  pursued  its  way.  Troopers  made  an  arrest  or 
two,  but  they  noticed  the  rain  of  missiles  no  more  than 
they  would  have  noticed  a  rain  of  dew. 

They  are  men  trained  to  self-restraint,  by  military 
service,  even  before  they  came  to  my  Force  [said  their 
Superintendent,  later].  They  are  trained  to  obey  orders, 
and  are  fearless.  They  do  not  lose  their  heads,  and  they 
have  experience  enough  to  know  that  if  a  few  men  in  a 
crowd  of  thousands  start  to  throw  bricks,  they  are  not 
going  to  be  killed, — they  do  not  have  to  shoot. 

But  presently  a  brick,  thrown  with  better  aim  than 
most,  struck  one  of  the  troopers  full  in  the  face, — a 
terrible  blow,  crushing  in  the  bones.  In  the  same 


192  Justice  to  All 

instant,  Private  Maughan,  who  had  seen  the  man 
that  launched  the  missile,  was  off  his  horse  and  in 
pursuit.  The  man  dashed  up  the  steps  of  a  bar-room, 
rushed  in,  slammed  and  fastened  the  door.  The 
trooper,  close  on  his  heels,  smashed  a  hole  in  the  glass 
of  the  door  with  the  butt  of  his  revolver,  opened  it, 
and  followed.  As  he  did  so,  a  fusillade  from  the  mob — 
from  those  hundreds  of  revolvers  so  patriotically  pro- 
vided that  day  by  merchants  of  Bethlehem — followed 
him.  A  Hungarian  laborer  named  Szambo,  standing 
at  the  bar  with  a  glass  of  beer  raised  to  his  lips,  dropped 
mortally  hurt.  Another  laborer,  Tony  Kostonos  by 
name,  who  gazed  from  a  corner  with  his  mouth  open 
owed  at  least  his  teeth  to  that  fact,  since  a  bullet  passed 
through  his  cheek  and  then  out  of  his  mouth  without 
further  damage.  At  the  same  time  the  mob  on  both 
sides  of  the  street  opened  a  cross-fire  on  the  troopers. 
Two  horses  were  badly  shot  and  the  walls  of  the  build- 
ings on  either  side  were  peppered  with  lead. 

Some  hours  later  Szambo,  the  beer-drinker,  died 
of  his  wound.  Immediately  the  leaders,  seeing  their 
chance,  proclaimed  him  a  martyr.  On  March  1st,  at  a 
meeting  in  Municipal  Hall,  David  Williams,  Socialist 
and  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  thus  ex- 
horted an  excited  crowd: 

"This  man  lived  and  died  in  our  cause.  He  died  for 
you  men.  Where  these  troopers  go  there  is  always  mur- 
der of  foreigners,  for  where  they  go  they  terrorize, 
though  they  do  not  abuse  Americans.  Go  to  Szambo's 
funeral,  to  do  the  martyr  honor." 

The  street  throngs  had  clearly  seen  the  bright  nickel 
figures  on  Trooper  Maughan's  collar;  that  indeed  was 
the  purpose  of  the  figures.  They  knew  that  it  was 
Number  Forty-four  who  pursued  the  man  that  had 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  193 

crushed  his  brother- trooper's  face.  The  Ledger  reported 
such  phrases  as  ' '  We  will  shoot  him  to-night ! "  "  Look 
for  Forty-four,"  as  frequently  heard  on  the  street. 
And,  as  night  fell,  "under  cover  of  darkness  many 
of  the  foreign  laborers  crept  up  on  the  police  or  fired  at 
them  from  the  windows  of  houses." 

The  Hungarian  Consul  arrived  promptly  to  take  the 
matter  in  hand.  Labor  leaders  telegraphed  President 
Taft  asking  for  the  proper  punishment  of  Trooper 
Forty-four,  murderer  of  the  martyr  Szambo;  District 
Attorney  McKeen  was  equally  alacritous  to  institute 
criminal  proceedings  against  the  trooper.  The  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor,  through  a  Mr.  McGinley, 
was  reported  to  have  undertaken  prosecution  in  the 
widow's  behalf.  Charles  R.  Witham,  of  the  Inter- 
national Moulders'  Union,  was  credited  with  the  sug- 
gestive statement  regarding  the  State  Police's  action, 
that:  "It  is  nothing  more  than  a  concerted  attack  on 
the  foreign  element,  some  of  whom  do  not  even  know 
what  the  law  is."  And  finally,  the  Governor  of  the  State 
lost  no  time  in  despatching  counsel  for  the  trooper's 
defense. 

In  due  time  and  form  they  held  the  trial,  Trooper 
Maughan  pleading  not  guilty.  And  the  result  of  the 
trial,  to  the  inexpressible  disgust  of  the  whole  prose- 
cuting array,  was  the  complete  proof  of  the  fact  that 
the  bullet  that  killed  the  martyr  Szambo  was  not  of 
the  caliber  that  fits  State  Police  revolvers!  Private 
Maughan  was  therefore  fully  acquitted  by  the  court. 

Meantime,  on  the  night  of  the  27th,  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  strikers  issued  the  statement  that  the 
State  Police  had  been  called  in  without  cause,  and  that 
"Not  a  single  arrest  had  been  made  nor  a  dollar's 
worth  of  property  destroyed  or  placed  in  jeopardy" 

13 


194  Justice  to  All 

before  their  coming.  Now,  they  affirmed,  "We  charge 
that  peaceful  citizens  have  been  denied  their  liberty 
and  imprisoned  and  murdered  in  cold  blood  when  not  a 
single  overt  act  has  been  committed  nor  a  threat 
made." 

This  statement  forms  a  curious  parallel  to  those  of 
the  sheriff  of  the  county,  addressed  thrice  over  to  the 
Governor,  only  twenty-four  hours  before.  At  one 
o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  the  sheriff  tele- 
graphed, in  begging  for  the  State  Police:  "The  situa- 
tion ...  is  beyond  my  control.  Employees  of  the 
works  are  mobbed  and  beaten."  That  evening  he 
again  telegraphed: 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  get  sufficient  deputies  from 
the  community  to  act.  Serious  riots,  bloodshed>  and 
shooting  occurred  this  morning  and  evening.  .  .  .  The 
whole  town  is  in  a  lawless  state.  I  must  have  your  help 
to  preserve  the  peace.  ...  I  am  supported  in  the  foregoing 
view  by  the  Burgess  and  Chief  of  Police  of  South  Bethlehem. 

To  follow  the  history  further  would  not  be  without 
interest,  but  its  kernel,  as  far  as  the  State  Police  is  con- 
cerned, may  be  condensed  in  brief  space. 

As  has  been  said,  dusk,  on  the  27th,  found  the  well 
armed  rioters  sniping  at  the  troopers  from  any  con- 
venient hiding  place.  Immediately  the  detail  started 
a  house-to-house  search,  reaping  a  harvest  of  guns. 
In  a  few  hours  peace  reigned.  "No  disturbances 
have  occurred  since  midnight,"  said  the  Philadelphia 
Press  next  day.  "Not  once  have  the  troopers  been 
obliged  to  charge  the  crowd,  a  quiet  but  firm  ' Move  on* 
having  proved  sufficient." 

Before  daylight  patrols  were  posted  in  the  troubled 
parts. 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  195 

When  day  dawned  [said  the  Inquirer's  report]  the  troop- 
ers were  revealed.  .  .  .  Several  thousand  men,  as  the 
whistles  blew  at  6.30  o'clock,  gathered  along  the  streets. 

"  Keep  them  moving,  boys,"  was  the  order  sent  from 
Captain  Robinson. 

And  all  the  troopers  were  forced  to  do  was  to  walk  their 
horses  toward  a  group.  Before  they  came  within  fifty 
paces,  the  crowd  had  scattered.  .  .  .  Foreigners  who 
showed  no  fear  of  the  troopers  on  Saturday,  and  displayed 
revolvers  and  dirks,  were  among  the  first  to  flee  at  the 
approach  of  a  mounted  man.  .  .  . 

And  that  in  effect  was  all. 

During  this  prolonged  tour  of  duty  several  arrests 
were  made,  but  without  developing  any  resistance  or 
attempt  at  rescue,  and  not  one  life  was  lost,  save  that 
taken  on  the  first  day  by  the  mob  itself — the  life  of  the 
"  martyr  Szambo." 

Reverting  to  the  scenes  of  the  Force's  normal  activi- 
ties, we  find  "A"  and  "C"  Troops,  meanwhile  released 
from  quieted  Philadelphia  and  returned  to  their  own 
homes,  much  occupied  with  an  accumulation  of  business 
to  which  was  added  their  usual  early  spring  rush  of 
fire-fighting.  The  Pennsylvania  Lumbermen's  Associa- 
tion in  its  last  annual  meeting,  recognizing  the  extra- 
ordinary value  of  the  work  done  in  this  way,  had  urged 
the  generous  equipment  of  the  Force  with  all  special 
means  to  facilitate  its  efforts,  just  as  it  later  vigorously 
continued  to  demand  the  increase  of  the  body.  As  it 
was,  the  men  did  the  best  they  could,  which  meant, 
that  spring,  the  saving  to  private  owners  and  to  the 
State  of  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars'  worth 
of  timber  property. 

Thus  the  people  everywhere  within  the  reach  of  the 
little  Force  were  learning  by  experience  the  beauty  of 


196  Justice  to  All 

true  protection.  Each  hour  brought  forth  some  fresh 
example,  many  of  them  as  curious  as  new.  One  instance 
worth  mention  was  a  little  testimony  to  the  commercial 
value  of  the  name  of  being  a  well  policed  com- 
munity, now  offered  to  the  town  of  Punxsutawney. 
The  Hagenbeck- Wallace  Circus,  performing  in  Punxsu- 
tawney in  the  middle  of  May,  took  the  remarkable  step 
of  holding  pay-day  half  a  week  ahead  of  time.  Gratified 
and  surprised  by  the  flood  of  money  suddenly  turned 
into  shopkeepers'  tills,  the  town  inquired  the  reason  of 
the  phenomenon. 

"Why,"  answered  the  agent,  who  had  no  cause  for 
reserve,  "we  want  to  avoid,  when  we  can,  the  dis- 
turbances that  commonly  arise  among  our  teamsters, 
canvasmen,  and  the  like,  when  they  find  themselves  in 
possession  of  a  handful  of  money.  Some  of  them  are 
inclined  to  get  drunk;  then  they  hunt  out  all  sorts  of 
trouble  and  don't  report  for  duty.  But  all  of  them 
have  a  wholesome  fear  of  the  State  Police,  and  when 
we  strike  a  town  where  the  State  Police  is,  we  pay  off, 
even  if  it  is  a  little  ahead  of  time,  because  we  know  the 
men  will  keep  on  their  good  behavior  there.  Then 
they  get  rid  of  their  money  peaceably  and  we  have  no 
more  trouble  from  it.  " 

With  undiminished  sorrow  Punxsutawney  next  heard 
that  it  was  about  to  share  Reading's  fate;  "D"  Troop 
was  shortly  leaving.  The  rickety,  leaky,  draughty  old 
barracks,  and  the  stable  that  was  a  ramshackle  sieve, 
could  no  longer  decently  house  man  or  mount.  In  them 
both  had  spent  five  years  of  real  discomfort.  Now,  a 
good  location  had  been  found  elsewhere  that  could 
give  another  section  of  country  its  turn  at  concentrated 
care.  A  new  barracks  and  stables,  built  according 
to  the  Superintendent's  own  plans,  were  under  con- 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  197 


struction,  near  Butler,  and  early  in  the  next  year 
"D"  Troop  would  depart  to  its  new  home.  The 
Punxsutawney  Spirit  was  in  despair: 

The  money  spent  in  providing  an  efficient  police  system 
comes  back  to  the  Commonwealth  a  hundred  fold  by  the 
decreased  cost  of  the  administration  of  justice.  No  better 
economy  could  be  conceived.  .  .  .  The  barracks  are  not 
what  they  might  be,  and  all  that  is  needed  is  for  someone 
in  authority  to  indicate  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  just 
what  improvements  are  desired.  The  people  of  Punxsu- 
tawney, particularly  the  business  men,  want  the  barracks 
to  remain  here  where  they  belong,  and  are  prepared  to  do 
anything  within  reason. 

But,  like  Reading,  Punxsutawney  wept  in  vain. 
"Lock  the  stable,  the  horse  has  been  stolen,"  cries  the 
Spirit  bitterly;  and  it  was  even  galled  into  revising 
its  old  opinion  that  the  Police's  only  fault  was  its  little 
size.  A  structural  weakness  was  now  obvious,  it 
found.  "It  is  a  mistake  to  give  the  Superintendent 
power  to  change  the  location  of  barracks, "  complained 
the  Spirit  on  January  26th,  as  it  described  the  crowds 
of  regretful  townspeople  taking  final  leave  of  the 
Troop  at  the  railway  station  that  day. 

In  his  annual  report  for  1910,  the  Superintendent 
showed  that  the  Force,  mounted  and  dismounted,  had 
patrolled  on  active  duty  during  the  year,  389,805  miles, 
had  visited  2223  towns  and  boroughs  in  61  counties, 
and  had  made  2983  arrests,  for  76  different  kinds  of 
crime,  of  which  arrests  2083  had  already  resulted  in 
convictions  while  216  yet  awaited  trial. 

This  report  also  contained  a  vigorous  reiteration  of 
the  truth  that  the  pay  of  the  Force  was  not  commen- 
surate with  the  arduous  and  dangerous  nature  of  the 


198  Justice  to  All 

duties  that  it  was  called  upon  to  perform,  and  further, 
that  it  was  not  a  fair  compensation  for  work  of  the 
intellectual  caliber  demanded  by  the  service.  "The 
fact  that  in  one  year  (1910)  82  out  of  220  men  on  the 
Force  were  offered  and  accepted  positions  with  much 
higher  salaries,  shows  that  men  of  this  class  are  valued 
by  others, "  wrote  the  commander. 

That  such  offers  from  without  would  occur  and  recur 
in  very  tempting  forms  was  inevitable.  Men  with 
large  responsibilities  to  fill,  with  large  values  to  con- 
serve whose  safeguarding  demanded  keen  intelligence, 
ripe  experience,  high  training,  courage,  coolness,  loyalty, 
and  honor,  knew  and  appreciated  the  rarity  of  those 
qualities  as  united  in  one  man.  When  they  saw  a 
small,  conspicuous  body  of  such  men,  proved  out  by 
daily  test  in  the  white  light  of  public  work,  they  could 
not  but  recognize  and  covet  the  very  acme  of  their 
desire.  So  they  came  to  the  Force  with  offers  too 
tempting  to  be  lightly  cast  aside  by  men  with  aged 
parents  or  with  wife  and  children  to  consider,  and  whose 
present  hazardous  employ  made  no  provision  whatever 
for  its  maimed  and  disabled,  or  for  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  those  killed  in  the  performance  of  its 
duties. 

It  was  impossible  to  blame  such  as  ceded  to  these 
considerations.  But  one  restriction  the  Superintendent 
did  desire  to  make.  He  strongly  urged  the  passage  of 
a  law  forbidding  the  man  who  had  profited  by  thorough 
drilling  and  schooling  in  State  Police  duties  to  leave 
the  Force  before  the  expiration  of  his  two-year  term  of 
enlistment,  thus  depriving  the  State  of  her  reward. 
That  a  man  should  be  allowed  to  enlist  in  the  Force, 
to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  special  training,  and  then,  at  the 
moment  of  becoming  of  real  value  to  the  State,  to  leave 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  199 

her  for  reasons  of  personal  profit,  obliging  her  to  begin 
all  over  again  with  a  green  recruit — this  seemed  to 
Major  Groome  a  rank  impropriety.  He  therefore 
coupled  with  his  recommendation  for  raised  pay  a 
second  recommendation  for  the  passage  of  a  law  com- 
pelling the  full  service  of  the  term  of  enlistment.  A 
bill  to  amend  the  creative  act  was  framed  accordingly, 
and  introduced  in  the  Legislature  of  1911. 

Mr.  V.  Gilpin  Robinson,  of  Delaware,  presented  the 
measure  in  the  House  on  March  27th.  In  the  debate  to 
which  it  gave  rise,  the  speeches  of  the  opposition  showed 
a  complete  lack  of  information  on  their  subject.  They 
rested  upon  misstatements  so  grossly  careless  as  to 
strip  bare  the  perfunctory  nature  of  the  argument, 
and  to  reveal  the  fact  that  no  question  of  right,  wrong, 
moral  conviction,  or  public  usefulness  was  involved, 
but  merely  a  determination,  for  hidden  and  private 
reasons,  to  kill  the  bill.  On  a  yea  and  nay  vote, 
seventy  to  one  hundred  and  seventeen,  the  bill  failed 
of  passage. 

Now  arose  a  full  gale  of  wrath  from  all  over  the  State, 
from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  citizens  unafraid  of 
jail. 

The  Philadelphia  Ledger  of  March  29th  thus  voiced 
its  editorial  scorn: 

The  attack  is  upon  the  spirit  of  peace  and  law.  It 
is  conceived  in  the  spirit  of  anarchy.  The  members  who 
timidly  followed  this  lawless  lead  were  actuated  by  sheer 
demagogy.  ...  It  is  supposed  to  be  "popular"  to  retrench 
and  here  was  an  opportunity  to  curry  favor  with  the  mob 
under  the  cloak  of  economy.  The  State  Police  will  go  on 
just  the  same,  because  it,  much  better  than  a  majority  of 
the  House,  represents  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  Common- 
wealth. 


200  Justice  to  All 

The  Harrisburg  Patriot  treated  the  vote  with  no 
greater  respect: 

How  could  the  State  Police,  which  attends  strictly  to 
business  and  keeps  out  of  politics,  expect  an  increase  of  pay 
from  a  Legislature  that  is  under  orders  from  the  Boss  to 
create  so  many  new  places  and  raise  so  many  salaries  as 
rewards,  not  for  public  service,  but  for  political  activity? 
Let  the  Black  Hander,  the  kidnapper,  the  bomb-thrower, 
the  incendiary,  and  the  murderous  highwayman  ply  their 
vocations.  Henchmen  must  be  taken  care  of  at  the  people's 
expense,  and  with  only  some  twelve  millions  in  the  General 
Fund,  there  is  too  little  for  the  henchmen,  to  pay  the  State 
Police  enough  to  make  it  worth  while  for  the  members  to 
stay  in  the  service. 

The  protest  of  the  Harrisburg  Telegraph  included: 

A  New  York  patrolman  of  the  first  grade  gets  $1400  a 
year.  Patrolmen  as  low  as  the  sixth  grade  get  $900  a  year 
and  there  is  the  additional  privilege  of  retirement  at  the  end 
of  twenty-five  years  of  service  with  a  life  pension  of  $700 — 
or  $20  a  year  less  than  the  State  Police  of  Pennsylvania 
have  been  paid  for  the  hardest  kind  of  active  service.  .  .  . 
Moreover,  the  men  whom  Superintendent  Groome  has 
gathered  around  him  are  far  and  away  above  the  average 
of  the  New  York  or  Philadelphia  police  force. 

"A  Vote  for  Crime, "  the  Greensburg  Tribune  brands 
the  Legislature's  action,  and  warns  not  only  the  two 
Westmoreland  members  who  "took  their  stand  with 
the  highwaymen  and  the  bandits,"  but  also  that  one 
member  who  dodged  the  vote,  that  they  will  do  well, 
all  three,  to  sit  down  quickly  and  prepare  an  account  of 
themselves  for  the  inspection  of  their  constituents. 

" Bullied  by  the  apostles  of  outlawry,"  is  the  Pitts- 
burgh Chronicle-Telegraph's  diagnosis  of  the  House's 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  201 

plight.  The  Pottsville  Journal  points  out  with  con- 
tempt and  anger  that  the  Schuylkill  County  representa- 
tives voted  against  the  bill.  "  In  doing  this  they  simply 
truckled  to  what  they  believed  to  be  a  powerful  senti- 
ment." And  the  Journal  offers  its  own  complete 
conversion  from  an  original  hostility  to  the  Force  as 
illustrating  how  utterly  that  sentiment  has  ceased  to 
exist  in  reputable  fields. 

Meantime,  while  the  newspapers,  great  and  small,  all 
over  the  State,  were  expressing  the  popular  mind  in 
editorial  form,  one  formidable  figure  whose  pen  is  ever 
a  portent  because  it  never  moves  save  in  the  Day  of 
Wrath  was  descried  bending  over  the  desk.  This  was 
the  farmer,  throughout  those  regions  that  the  Force 
had  served.  And  the  politician,  however  small,  who 
witnessed  that  phenomenon  stopped  short  in  his 
tracks. 

Moses  N.  Clark  was  a  Granger  of  Claridge,  in  West- 
moreland. Mr.  Clark  needed  no  credentials  with  his 
legislators  nor  with  his  county.  This  solid  citizen 
like  many  others  elsewhere  in  the  State,  now  wrote 
certain  letters  to  Harrisburg,  whose  tenor  a  county 
paper  thus  indicated : 

The  defeat  of  the  bill  to  increase  the  pay  of  the  members 
of  the  State  Constabulary  was  a  crime  against  this  Common- 
wealth. .  .  .  When  the  bill  to  increase  its  pay  and  incident- 
ally to  increase  its  efficiency  was  originally  introduced  I 
wrote  personally  to  every  Grange  member  of  the  Legislature 
telling  them  of  the  protection  we  as  farmers  were  receiving 
from  the  troopers,  so  that  no  man  voted  in  ignorance.  .  .  . 
I  simply  want  to  enter  my  protest  against  the  shabby  way 
in  which  one  of  the  best  organizations  that  the  State  has 
ever  known  has  been  treated,  and  treated  by  men  who  owe 
the  farmer  much. 


202  Justice  to  All 

In  that  last  phrase  rang  the  master's  voice.  "Terri- 
ble men  with  terrible  names"  ending  in  "ski,"  "vitch" 
or  "imini, "  even  though  they  claim  those  names  by 
means  of  a  cross-mark  in  the  midst,  may  drop  a  vote 
somewhere.  But  that  a  man  named  Moses  N.  Clark 
both  has  a  vote  and  knows  how  to  use  it  admits  no 
possible  question.  Moreover,  when  a  Granger,  of  all 
men  in  the  body  politic,  sits  down  and  writes  a  letter 
demanding  in  the  name  of  the  farmer  the  passage  of  a 
measure  that  raises  his  taxes,  no  politician  alive  is  too 
dense  to  realize  that  he  not  only  means  what  he  says 
but  will  fight  for  it. 

On  the  25th  of  April  the  bill  was  again  brought  up. 
After  a  short  debate  developing  nothing  of  moment, 
the  vote  was  taken.  Thirty-four  members  who  had 
voted  against  the  bill  on  the  previous  occasion,  but  who 
in  the  interval  had  heard  the  Voice  from  Home,  now 
reversed  themselves,  while  twenty-four  former  oppo- 
nents, just  a  trifle  less  graceful,  refrained  from  voting. 
The  count  showed  one  hundred  and  thirteen  yeas  to 
sixty-five  nays,  and  the  bill  accordingly  passed.  Signed 
by  Governor  John  K.  Tener  on  June  I,  1911,  it  con- 
stitutes the  law  now  active. x 

Thus  ended  the  legislative  history  of  the  Force  for 
the  session,  except  for  the  usual  midge-like  swarm  of 
repealers,  which  died  midges'  deaths  in  committee. 

By  the  new  Act,  the  only  member  of  the  Force  whose 
pay  was  not  raised  was  the  Superintendent.  As  first 
framed,  the  amendment  proposed  raising  the  Super- 
intendent's pay  from  $3000  to  $5000.  Major  Groome, a 

1  See  Appendix  B. 

a  On  May  9,  1910,  Captain  John  C.  Groome  was  elected  to  the  ma- 
jority of  Squadron  A,  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Squadron 
comprising  his  former  command,  the  First  City  Troop,  with  the  Second 
City  Troop  and  Troop  "A." 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  203 

however,  protested  that  he  was  interested  only  in 
seeing  the  pay  of  his  men  increased.  "That,"  he  was 
told,  "is  well  enough  now,  but  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  the  man  best  qualified  to  succeed  you  eventually 
may  not  be  a  man  of  private  means.  Therefore  the 
office  should  carry  a  proper  salary." 

The  justice  of  this  was  too  obvious  to  dispute;  Major 
Groome  accordingly  withdrew  his  objection. 

After  the  vote,  friends  of  the  bill  again  came  to  the 
Major.  "  Of  course, "  said  they,  "this  sudden  spasm  of 
economy  in  an  Assembly  that  has  been  raising  every- 
body's salary,  that  has  raised  that  of  the  Governor's 
private  secretary  to  $5000,  and  that  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Senate  beyond  that  sum,  is  all  bluff.  One 
motive  largely  behind  it  is,  a  determination  to  crowd 
you  yourself  out  of  office.  As  long  as  you  are  Superin- 
tendent the  Force  is  useless  as  a  political  asset.  Do 
you  see?" 

"I  do,"  said  the  Major.  "And  you  may  say  to 
any  gentlemen  interested  not  only  that  I  waive  a  raise 
in  my  pay,  but  also  that  I  am  perfectly  willing  either 
to  serve  for  half  the  present  sum,  or  to  give  my  services 
outright,  if  the  Commonwealth  is  too  poor  to  recom- 
pense her  officers." 

How  far  this  truly  discouraging  statement  may  have 
operated  on  the  result  might  be  surmised  more  fairly 
than  asserted. 

Out  of  the  infinitely  varied  work  performed  by  the 
State  Police  during  the  year  1911,  one  item  stands 
forth  with  an  imperative  demand  for  mention,  for  the 
blessed  reason  that  it  is  rare.  Such  catastrophes  as 
that  which  befell  the  town  of  Austin  do  not  often  sadden 
our  history. 

The  Bayliss  Paper  Mills  occupied  the  narrow  valley 


204  Justice  to  All 

of  the  Alleghenies  just  above  the  town,  and  the  Bayliss 
Dam  confined  the  waters  that  turned  the  great  mill 
wheels.  On  Saturday  afternoon,  September  3Oth,  that 
dam  broke.  Then  came  a  moment  like  the  coming 
of  chaos — like  the  tearing  up  of  the  world  by  its  roots — 
and  when  it  passed  the  town  of  Austin  had  ceased  to 
exist. 

One  of  those  sent  to  inspect  the  scene  wrote  back: 

Straight  as  the  furrow  of  a  gigantic  plowshare,  the 
broad  path  of  devastation  stretches  away.  .  .  .  Halfway 
down  the  furrow  stands  a  row  of  half-demolished  brick 
buildings  against  the  front  of  which  is  stacked  an  enormous 
heap  of  bricks,  timber,  beams,  window  frames,  and  shingles, 
the  hopelessly  intermingled  fabrics  of  scores  of  structures. 
This  is  what  was  Main  Street,  Austin's  principal  thorough- 
fare. From  Main  Street  up  the  valley  to  the  bend  where 
the  Bayliss  Pulp  Paper  Company's  mill  stood,  there  is 
nothing  at  all  except  a  carpet  of  splintered  bits  of  wood  and 
debris  of  all  descriptions,  with  a  fringe  of  broken  houses 
rifted  along  the  sides. 

Here  and  there  across  the  waste  lay  upended  flat 
cars,  pieces  of  machinery,  broken  lengths  of  railroad 
track  torn  from  their  bed  by  the  torrent,  fragments  of 
trucks  and  carriages  whose  drivers  and  horses  were 
buried  in  the  wreck,  bits  and  corners  of  pitiful  personal 
things.  Now  and  again  the  upper  story  of  some  house, 
wrenched  from  its  other  part  and  swept  along  in  the 
turmoil  of  the  flood,  hung  crazily  on  the  crumbling 
chimneys  of  what  had  been  a  dwelling  or  a  shop  on  a 
level  below.  The  ruin  was  complete  and  no  one  knew 
how  many  human  lives  had  been  sacrificed  in  its  midst. 

Through  all  this  shapeless  desolation  men  and  women 
wandered  with  drawn,  blank  faces,  aimless,  dazed. 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  205 

Their  eyes  were  dull.  Their  hands  hung  limp.  All 
that  they  had — all  that  their  friends  and  neighbors  had 
had  and  loved,  was  gone.  They  did  not  know  who  was 
living  or  who  was  dead .  And  they  had  forgotten  how  to 
think. 

Now  with  incredible  speed,  like  the  vultures  to  the 
battlefield,  flocked  swarms  of  stranger  sight-seers,  who 
stood  idly  about  gazing  at  the  wreckage;  with  them 
came  also  hundreds  of  tramps  drawn  by  the  hope  of 
loot,  agile  in  forming  the  head  of  the  line  at  the  relief 
stations  where  food  was  given  free,  deft  in  robbing  the 
bodies  of  the  dead. 

These  conditions  lasted  until  the  afternoon  of  the 
second  day,  when  a  State  Police  detachment  fifty-two 
strong,  officers  and  men,  reached  the  scene.  From  that 
time  until  its  withdrawal  on  the  I5th  of  October,  the 
detachment  policed  Austin  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try; took  entire  charge  of  the  field  mess,  which  provided 
the  daily  meals  of  from  six  hundred  to  fourteen  hundred 
men;  assisted  the  Adjutant  General's  Department 
in  commissary  and  quartermaster  work  until  that 
Department  withdrew  its  men,  leaving  its  entire  work 
to  the  State  Police;  took  over  all  recovered  bodies  and 
property,  attending  to  their  committal  to  the  proper 
hands;  drove  out  all  sight-seers  and  suspicious  char- 
acters, and  dealt  with  robbers  according  to  the  law. 
Working  in  reliefs,  it  guarded  property  night  and  day, 
watched  over  the  fifteen  hundred  laborers,  mostly 
foreigners,  who  had  been  employed  to  remove  wreckage 
and  recover  bodies  and  who  were  sorely  inclined  to 
loot,  and  answered  every  need  in  every  conceivable  way. 

A  detail  of  ten  men  from  "D"  Troop,  under  Sergeant 
Mullin,  sent  to  augment  the  original  detachment,  re- 
mained after  that  detachment  had  left,  until  October 


206  Justice  to  All 

3  ist,  when  conditions  were  so  far  improved  that  its 
services  could  be  spared. 

The  Commissioner  of  Health,  Dr.  Dixon,  to  whom 
the  Governor  had  committed  the  ordering  of  the  whole 
rescue  scheme,  bears  willing  testimony  to  the  spirit 
of  the  State  Police.  "These  men,"  says  he,  "per- 
formed their  duties  of  policing  the  stricken  district 
with  rare  discretion.  They  displayed  an  intelligent 
consideration  for  the  flood  sufferers,  combined  with  a 
firmness  which  was  admirable." 

Mr.  H.  L.  Hosford,  Secretary  to  the  Commissioner, 
thus  speaks  from  his  own  close  observation  during  those 
tragic  days: 

Only  a  sea  of  splintered  timber  covered  the  site  of  the 
lost  town.  The  Austin  people  were  benumbed,  panic- 
stricken,  dazed.  For  two  weeks  they  had  no  food  except 
what  we  gave  them.  The  Health  Department  offered  the 
men — those  men  whose  all  was  swept  away — a  dollar  and 
seventy-five  cents  a  day  to  work  in  the  ruins.  But  they 
could  only  stand  and  stare.  With  the  dead,  the  hurt,  the 
starving,  and  the  shelterless,  we  had  also  to  think  of  this 
stunned,  hopeless,  idle  crowd.  And  the  State  Police,  moving 
among  them,  were  marvelous.  Firm  always,  they  were  al- 
ways patient,  always  kindly,  and  they  understood.  They 
helped  and  managed  those  poor  people  as  no  one  and  nothing 
else  could  have  done.  Their  judgment,  their  tact,  and  their 
discretion  were  beyond  all  praise.  Without  them,  what 
should  we  have  had  to  help  us  ?  We  should  have  had  some 
nineteen-year-old  boys,  in  blue  coats,  with  guns  in  their 
hands,  without  any  experience  whatever,  and  with  the  judg- 
ment of  nineteen-year-old  boys. 

This  topic  should  not  be  left  without  a  glance  at  the 
triumphal  paean  that  the  Philadelphia  North  American 
found  cause  to  write  on  October  7th: 


In  Danger,  Necessity,  and  Tribulation  207 

A  fine  record  was  broken  in  Pennsylvania  this  week.  .  .  . 
For  the  first  time  in  its  noble  history  the  Red  Cross,  coming 
with  characteristic  promptness  to  a  scene  of  disaster,  death, 
and  suffering,  turned  its  back  upon  it  and  said:  "There  is 
nothing  for  us  to  do."  It  was  simply  the  greatest  compli- 
ment ever  paid  to  an  American  State  for  an  unprecedented 
exhibition  of  humanitarian  efficiency.  .  .  .  Ever  since  the 
time  of  its  inception  exactly  thirty  years  ago,  the  Red  Cross 
had  been  first  in  the  field  in  the  hour  of  disaster,  bringing 
order  out  of  feeble  though  well  meant  efforts  by  cities  and 
States  to  meet ' '  the  instant  need  of  things. ' '  It  was  so  in  the 
Michigan  fires  of  1 88 1,  in  the  yellow  fever  plague  in  Florida 
in  1888,  in  the  Johnstown  flood  of  1889,  in  the  South  Caro- 
lina hurricane  of  1893,  in  tidal-wave-swept  Gal  vest  on  in 
1900,  in  the  Martinique  and  the  San  Francisco  earthquakes 
of  later  years.  .  .  .  But  when  the  National  Director  of 
the  Red  Cross  went  in  person  to  Austin  ...  he  saw  what 
the  Health  Department  of  Pennsylvania  was  doing  under  the 
personal  direction  of  Dr.  Samuel  Dixon  and  his  aides;  he 
grasped  instantly  the  team-work  in  the  installation  of  order 
by  Groome's  State  Constabulary,  working  in  perfect  unison 
with  the  Dixon  forces ;  he  saw  how  an  adjutant  general  had 
regarded  his  office  not  as  an  ornamental  one.  .  .  .  And  for 
the  first  time  in  Red  Cross  history,  the  National  Director 
went  home  and  reported  that  the  situation  was  so  "ad- 
mirably in  hand"  that  assistance  was  not  needed.  .  .  . 
"In  the  name  of  the  National  Committee  we  congratulate 
Pennsylvanians. " 

Mark  you,  says  the  North  American,  he  said  "Penn- 
sylvanians" not  "Pennsylvania."  Shall  a  malodorous 
State  Government  "misruled  by  grafters,"  shall  "the 
pirates  of  Harrisburg,  Philadelphia,  and  Pittsburg  re- 
ceive credit  for  the  work  of  Dixon,  Groome,  and  Stewart  ? " 

There  never  has  been  a  moment  that  we  have  not  known 
that  if  the  gang  masters  dared  pollute  the  work  of  Dixon, 


208  Justice  to  All 

our  health  department  would  be  immediately  degraded  into 
a  dirty  but  powerful  political  machine.  They  do  not  retire 
him  for  the  one  reason  that  they  dare  not. 

And  so  with  John  C.  Groome,  who,  when  a  trust  was 
given  into  his  charge,  damned  politics  and  ignored  county 
and  State  bosses  and  went  to  the  trained,  disciplined,  cool- 
headed,  hard-bitten  men  of  the  regular  army  for  recruits 
for  the  Constabulary,  that  even  in  times  of  hottest  popular 
passion  do  not  engage  in  hysteria  or  frightened  gun  play, 
but  quietly,  inflexibly,  and  dispassionately  do  the  work  of 
order.  .  .  . 

We  think  that  in  the  wiser  days  to  come  there  may 
be  a  replacement  of  a  certain  statue  that  stands  in  a  niche 
in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol  by  a  bronze  tablet  reproducing 
that  tribute  of  the  Red  Cross  to  "Pennsylvanians." 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  COSSACK  HORDE 

THE  remaining  legislative  history  of  the  Force  is 
negative  in  character.  The  Legislature  of  1913  de- 
feated a  bill  to  add  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  to  the 
State  Police  body.  The  Legislature  of  1915  defeated  a 
similar  bill.  It  also  rejected  in  Senate  Committee  a 
proposal  to  make  it  compulsory  that  members  of  the 
State  Police  Force  be  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  and  to 
provide  that  married  men  may  be  enlisted.  This  latter 
move  was,  obviously,  designed  as  an  entering  wedge — 
an  attempt  to  convert  the  Force  into  material  for  po- 
litical patronage.  To  rob  the  Superintendent  of  his 
right  to  recruit  from  the  finest  citizenry  stock  of  the 
country,  wherever  he  might  find  it,  and  then  to  compel 
him  to  accept  married  men  as  recruits,  would  have 
gone  a  long  way  toward  pulling  the  Force  down  into 
the  reach  of  the  spoilers.  And  had  the  attempt  suc- 
ceeded, the  Force  most  assuredly  would  have  begun 
its  fall  under  the  guidance  of  a  new  Superintendent. 

In  1913  a  bill  introduced  by  a  Mr.  Stein,  at  the 
instance  of  the  Pennsylvania  Federation  of  Labor, 
deliberately  proposed  to  curtail  the  State's  right  to  use 
her  own  Police  Force.  "The  State  Police  Force,"  it 
ran,  "shall  not,  under  any  circumstances,  be  called  on 
to  act  in  case  of  any  strike  or  lockout  or  in  any  dispute 
or  trouble  growing  out  of  the  relationship  between  em- 
ployers of  labor  and  their  employees." 

14  209 


210  Justice  to  All 

But  the  Legislature  refused  to  degrade  the  State  to  the 
position  of  the  furtive  spectator  of  a  prize  fight  conniv- 
ing with  hands  down  while  the  combatants  shatter  the 
laws.  The  Pottsville  Republican,  in  a  widely  copied 
editorial,  said  of  the  grotesque  notion: 

Does  Mr.  Stein  want  to  tell  law-defying  owners  of  big 
business  that  if  their  workmen  are  not  satisfied  with  their 
working  conditions,  the  employer  may  hire  a  gang  of  toughs 
to  shoot  them  down  because  they  will  not  go  to  work,  and 
that  no  State  Police  power  dare  be  invoked  to  stop  said 
slaughter?  Does  Mr.  Stein  wish  to  encourage  law  breaking 
or  crime  which  sometimes  becomes  associated  with  in- 
dustrial disputes?  .  .  .  The  Stein  bill  is  an  insult  to  labor 
and  an  insult  to  every  decent  employer  of  labor  in  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania.  The  workingmen  should  be  the  first  to 
repudiate  it,  for  it  carries  with  it  possibilities  which  may 
be  taken  by  some  of  the  anarchistic  capitalists  and  by 
hot-headed  and  irresponsible  so-called  workingmen  for  a 
license  for  them  to  use  any  tactics  which  they  may  desire 
to  intimidate  either  striking  workmen  or  employers  of 
labor. 

.  .  .  The  State  Police  have  no  right  to  interfere  in  any 
labor  dispute  but  they  have  the  right  and  should  have  the 
right  to  quell  any  disturbance  which  may  grow  from  any 
source,  whether  from  a  ball  conducted  by  the  "Four 
Hundred"  or  a  row  at  a  baseball  game  or  an  outbreak  of 
violence  in  a  district  where  a  strike  or  lockout  may  be  in 
progress. 

Even  in  this  intelligent  statement  survives  that 
strange  confusion  that  sees  a  debatable  difference 
between  the  rights  of  the  State  and  the  rights  of  the 
State's  Police — survives  the  failure  clearly  to  grasp 
the  basic  truth  that  the  State's  Police  is  like  the  sword 
in  the  hand  of  Justice,  utterly  powerless  to  act  of  itself 


The  Cossack  Horde  211 

or  on  its  own  choice  or  initiative,  endowed  with  motion 
only  by  the  hand  that  wields  it,  and  then  moving  as  one 
with  that  hand  and  endued  with  the  whole  strength  of 
the  goddess. 

A  gruesomely  humorous  illustration  of  the  possibili- 
ties contained  in  an  elder  agency  for  handling  "  troubles 
growing  out  of  labor  disputes"  was  afforded  in  West- 
moreland County,  once  upon  a  time,  when  nine  thou- 
sand miners  went  out  on  strike.  Disorders  ensuing  that 
seemingly  justified  the  local  authorities'  appeal  for 
aid,  a  part  of  "A"  Troop  and  one  platoon  of  "D" 
Troop  were  detailed  to  the  scene,  where  they  remained 
for  a  considerable  period,  protecting  life  and  property  in 
the  large  area  inhabited  by  the  nine  thousand  men. 
Almost  from  the  first  a  mysterious  influence  emanating 
from  the  sheriff  of  the  County  operated  to  impede  the 
detachment's  work  in  every  possible  way. 

Hampered  beyond  the  point  where  endurance  was 
wise,  the  Troop  commander  investigated  the  affair; 
then  the  Philadelphia  North  American  printed  the  fol- 
lowing despatch: 

Sheriff  John  E.  Shields  was  to-day  arrested  on  charges  of 
extortion,  embezzlement,  and  perjury.  .  .  .  The  arrest  of 
the  Sheriff  comes  as  a  climax  to  the  recent  investigation 
into  his  conduct  of  the  strike  of  the  coal  miners  of  West- 
moreland County  by  Controller  John  D.  Hitchman.  The 
investigation  .  .  .  showed  that  the  Sheriff  charged  the  coal 
companies  $1.50  per  day  for  each  deputy  employed,  in 
addition  to  their  wages.  The  striking  miners,  it  was  shown, 
were  also  charged  at  the  same  rate  for  protection. 

The  sheriff,  it  was  alleged,  had  put  about  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  into  his  own  pocket  during  that  happy 
period  before  his  career  was  checked.  And  he  had  ac- 


212  Justice  to  All 

tually  been  making  the  State  Police  purveyors  to  his 
rising  fortunes. 

His  method,  as  explained,  was  this:  As  the  troopers 
arrested  a  misdemeanant  and  brought  him  to  jail,  the 
sheriff  would  receive  him  gladly,  register  him  duly,  and 
then,  in  the  privacy  of  the  jail,  quickly  swear  him  in  as  a 
deputy  sheriff,  pin  a  badge  on  his  coat,  thrust  a  revolver 
into  his  hand,  fill  his  pockets  with  cartridges,  and  let  him 
out  by  the  back  door  loose  again  upon  the  community. 

The  sheriff's  personal  profits  contingent  upon  this 
one  act  were  threefold.  First,  although  the  man  had 
been  in  the  jail  but  a  few  hours  at  most,  his  name  was 
retained  on  the  books  for  thirty  days,  and  charges  were 
accordingly  collected  from  the  county.  Second,  as  an 
additional  peace  officer  sorely  needed  in  a  sorely  dis- 
ordered district,  he  could  be  charged  to  the  account 
either  of  the  strikers  or  of  their  employers,  at  a  sum 
privately  netting  the  sheriff  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  day. 
Third,  as  a  lusty  rascal  armed  with  a  revolver,  and  not 
too  dull  to  know  what  he  was  expected  to  do  with  it, 
he  could  be  trusted  to  keep  the  good  work  going;  and  in 
such  a  situation  it  mattered  not  at  all  which  side  of  the 
war  he  joined.  So  that  the  fight  be  kept  alive,  all  was 
one  to  the  sheriff. 

At  last,  in  the  merry  history,  the  coal  companies 
grew  restive  under  the  discovery  that  the  little  State 
Police  detail  was  doing  all  the  work  while  many  hun- 
dreds of  deputy  sheriffs,  sitting  about  idly  when  not 
more  noxiously  employed,  were  regularly  drawing  pay. 
So  the  coal  companies  discharged  the  deputies. 

"If  you  don't  keep  my  deputies,"  said  the  sheriff, 
"I  won't  keep  the  State  Police." 

"We  won't  keep  your  deputies,"  said  the  coal  com- 
panies. 


The  Cossack  Horde  213 

So  the  sheriff  officially  notified  Major  Groome  that 
peace  reigned  and  the  troopers  were  no  longer  needed. 
The  superintendent  at  once  ordered  the  detail  back  to 
barracks. 

That  night,  after  the  detachment's  departure,  mis- 
chief broke  loose  all  over  Westmoreland  County. 
Riots  burst  out  where  before  there  had  been  no  trouble 
at  all,  and  everywhere  in  the  midst  of  them,  men  said, 
were  found  busy  deputy  sheriffs.  The  charge  was  not 
proved  that  the  sheriff  deliberately  instigated  these 
riots.  So  much  else  was  proven  that  such  a  trifle 
might  even  have  been  burdensome.  But  the  Governor 
himself  sent  back  the  State  Police,  over  the  head  of 
the  sheriff;  and  the  sheriff  went  to  the  Penitentiary 
for  a  two  years'  term.  Immediately  on  his  return  to 
freedom,  he  was  again  nominated  for  his  old  office  by 
the  radical  vote,  but,  almost  surprisingly  for  one  of 
his  courage  and  ingenuity,  he  was  defeated  at  the 
polls. 

Innumerable  are  the  entanglements,  the  obliquities, 
the  wheels  within  wheels  that  develop  when  sheriffs  of 
this  type,  deputy  sheriffs,  and  special  constables  are 
ranged  one  against  another  in  the  course  of  confused 
disputes.  In  consequence  of  disorders  attendant  upon 
another  strike — disorders  in  which  blood  had  been  shed 
and  much  ill-feeling  roused,  and  where  the  State  Police 
had  at  last  been  called  in,  the  Court  issued  an  injunction 
forbidding  strikers  to  parade  over  a  certain  road  leading 
past  the  company's  plant.  The  strikers  therefore 
ached  to  do  this  very  thing.  The  company's  gunmen 
or  special  constables  equally  ached  to  catch  them  at  it, 
and,  spoiling  for  a  fight,  lurked  in  ambush  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill  down  which  the  road  led.  Meanwhile  the 
deputy  sheriffs,  the  situation's  third  side,  wooed  every 


214  Justice  to  All 

chance  to  stir  the  broth,  since  the  longer  trouble  lasted 
the  heavier  grew  their  money-bags. 

So,  on  a  certain  bright  afternoon,  the  strikers  formed, 
several  hundred  strong,  and,  with  a  flag  at  their  head, 
started  boldly  down  the  forbidden  road,  shouting. 
Before  them,  leading  the  way,  strode  a  deputy  sheriff. 

"Follow  me,  brothers, "  proclaimed  he,  superbly. 
"I  am  your  friend.  /  know  your  rights.  No  tyrant 
shall  bar  your  way  while  I  am  here." 

Midway  down  the  hill  one  single  horseman,  a  State 
Police  captain,  rode  into  the  path  and  halted.  The 
crowd  laughed. 

"Out  of  the  road!"  cried  the  leader.  "I  am  here  to 
see  these  brothers  get  their  dues.  American  citizens 
can  go  anywhere!" — And  well  he  knew  that  he  was 
leading  the  flock  to  their  death  at  the  hands  of  the 
gunmen,  down  that  hill. 

But  the  strikers,  simple  folk,  cheered  heartily. 

"Still,  you  will  not  go  down  this  road,"  observed 
the  officer. 

"How  can  you  stop  us!"  sneered  the  deputy,  and  the 
crowd  laughed  again. 

"With  the  power  at  my  command,"  replied  the 
captain,  laying  his  hand  on  his  holster. 

"Then,"  screamed  the  other,  "you  would  be  tried 
for  murder!" 

"Maybe,"  agreed  the  officer,  mildly,  "but  you — 
wouldn't  be  at  the  trial." 

So  then,  still  led  by  the  deputy,  all  the  people  turned 
about  and  went  back  where  they  came  from. 

Another  true  story  goes  to  mark  another  of  the  main 
channels  by  which  cross-currents  flow.  The  scene  was 
again  a  region  tormented  by  disorders  incident  upon 
some  industrial  dispute.  The  sheriff  had  summoned 


CAPTAIN     LYNN    G.    ADAMS 

Commanding  "  A  "  Troop 


The  Cossack  Horde  215 

the  State  Police  to  his  help,  and  a  detachment  had  gone 
on  duty  there.  One  day  it  came  to  the  ears  of  the  cor- 
poration officials  that  the  strikers  were  planning  a  great 
parade,  past  the  company's  plant.  Bearing  the  news 
to  Captain  Lynn  G.  Adams,  commanding  the  State 
Police  detachment,  the  corporation's  manager  asked 
that  the  parade  be  stopped.  "For  if  they  parade," 
said  he,  "it  will  intimidate  our  workmen." 

"If  they  parade  in  an  orderly  manner,  I  have  no 
authority  to  prevent  them, "  replied  Captain  Adams. 

"Then, "  retorted  the  manager,  "I  must  do  it  myself, 
with  our  own  armed  guards.  So  take  your  men  away." 

"No,"  said  the  captain. 

"Well,  then,  you'll  have  to  go  on  and  stop  the  thing 
yourself,"  the  manager  finished,  "and  you'll  never 
have  to  shoot,  either.  If  you'll  just  put  your  men  on 
that  road,  the  paraders  will  turn  back — they're  afraid 
of  you." 

"I  know  that,"  replied  the  captain;  and  then  he 
took  the  trouble  to  explain  to  the  man  that  did  not 
understand: 

"Ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred  they  would 
stop.  But  on  the  hundredth  time  they  might  not 
stop.  Then  I  should  have  either  to  fire  or  to  back  down. 
The  State  Police  has  always  been  right  and  it  has  never 
backed  down  yet.  My  men  all  know  the  law.  If  I 
should  put  them  in  such  a  position  just  once,  the  next 
time  they  might  say  to  themselves:  'The  Captain  was 
wrong  that  other  day — probably  he's  wrong  now.' 
Then  good-bye  the  State  Police!" 

But,  in  the  matter  of  sheriffs,  not  all  sheriffs  are 
sorrows,  by  any  manner  of  means.  In  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  many  honest,  brave,  and  excellent  men 
hold  that  office,  and  among  them  it  is  a  pleasure  to 


216  Justice  to  All 

render  particular  tribute  to  the  present  sheriff  of 
Luzerne  County,  Mr.  George  F.  Buss. 

Sheriff  Buss  is  a  tailor  by  calling.  He  has  earnestly 
served  in  the  National  Guard  since  he  was  old  enough 
to  enlist,  he  has  a  mind  to  public  usefulness,  and,  as  the 
last  elections  came  on,  the  fancy  took  him  to  be  sheriff 
of  the  county.  He  was  ill  in  bed  at  the  time  of  his 
accession  to  office,  and  was  hardly  more  than  able  to 
rise  when  the  report  of  the  Dupont  church  riot  reached 
his  ears. 

Now,  the  true  inwardness  of  a  Polish  church  riot  in 
Wyoming  Valley  is  too  prolix  a  matter  to  load  upon 
these  pages.  It  concerns  graft,  it  concerns  speculations, 
it  concerns  jealousies,  it  concerns  disobedience  to  the 
Bishop,  and  at  last  it  concerns  defiance  of  the  courts 
and  violent  resistance  to  the  officers  of  the  Law.  But 
any  possible  aspect  of  religion  it  concerns  in  no  wise  at 
all.  Around  this  particular  church  at  Dupont  the  war- 
clouds  had  been  hanging  for  a  considerable  time. 
With  the  previous  sheriff  there  had  been  some  gestures. 
With  Sheriff  Buss,  there  was  action  just  as  soon  as 
the  court  suggested  action  to  his  mind. 

Those  who  open  their  attack  upon  the  sovereignty 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  desperate  attempt 
to  disarm  her  by  snatching  her  shield  and  sword  from 
her  hand,  employ  strange  tactics  now  and  again.  Tak- 
ing the  annual  report  of  the  State  Police  Department 
they  select  from  the  long  official  summary  of  arrests 
the  figures  found  under  the  captions  "  Drunk  and 
Disorderly,"  "Disorderly  Conduct/*  "Assault  and  Bat- 
tery," "Vagrancy,"  "Trespassing,"  "Rioting,"  "Un- 
lawful Possession  of  Firearms. ' '  With  fighting  obstinacy 
they  then  affirm  that  every  misdemeanant  listed  under 
these  heads  must  be  one  of  their  own  clan,  one  of  the 


The  Cossack  Horde  217 

element  whose  purposes  they  represent,  and  that  he  has 
been  seized  in  the  course  of  a  strike. 

Surely  no  one  but  a  labor  " leader"  would  care  to 
make  such  a  charge,  and  fora  twofold  reason:  First, 
that  it  is  a  cruel  thing  to  brand  the  striker  as  the  sole 
exponent  of  seven  several  wickednesses;  and,  second, 
that  the  records  of  the  State  Police  Department,  show- 
ing the  exact  date  and  circumstances  under  which  every 
arrest  ever  made  by  a  State  officer  occurred,  prove  that 
an  exceedingly  small  number  of  arrests  for  any  cause 
have  at  any  time  been  made  by  the  State  Police  during 
strike  periods. 

A  careful  estimate  made  by  the  Department  of  State 
Police  and  officially  rendered  in  December,  1915,  showed 
that  from  the  day  that  the  Force  first  took  the  field,  in 
1906,  up  to  the  date  of  that  report,  the  time  spent  by 
the  Force  on  riot  duty  averaged  one  day  a  man  a  year. 

In  the  year  1915,  the  Force  made  3027  arrests  for 
over  80  different  kinds  of  crime.  Of  these  arrests, 
32  were  for  rioting,  38  for  rape,  42  for  murder,  48  for 
burglary,  268  for  larceny. 

But  such  a  riot  as  Sheriff  Buss  went  out  to  face  at 
Dupont  was  a  particular  matter.  It  was  the  worst  riot 
that  had  occurred  in  ten  years  in  all  that  quarter  of  the 
State.  It  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  labor 
questions.  And  the  arrests  were  not  few. 

The  President  Judge  of  the  County  Court  had  in- 
structed Sheriff  Buss  to  give  police  protection  to  the 
priest  of  the  parish,  in  taking  due  possession  of  the 
church.  Knowing  that  trouble  would  ensue,  the  sher- 
iff asked  for  a  guard  of  State  Police  to  enable  him  to 
perform  this  duty.  Captain  Leon  S.  Pitcher,  com- 
manding "B"  Troop,  accordingly  detailed  twelve  men, 
and  himself  accompanied  the  detail. 


218  Justice  to  All 

Arriving  at  the  church,  the  party  saw  a  crowd  of  a 
thousand  persons,  men  and  women,  gathered  within 
the  church,  in  the  churchyard,  on  the  church  porches, 
even  in  the  balcony  of  the  steeple.  And  the  mob  was 
armed  with  crowbars,  mine-posts,  clubs,  stones,  brass 
knuckles,  and  other  informalities.  Stones  they  had 
evidently  been  collecting  for  some  time,  for  the  church 
steps  and  porches  and  even  the  steeple  gallery  were 
piled  with  them.  The  women,  in  addition  to  these 
common  weapons,  had  provided  themselves  with  in- 
numerable glass  bottles,  containing  mustard  and 
pepper. 

"I  thought,"  says  Sheriff  Buss,  in  narrating  the 
tale,  "that  the  people  would  listen  to  me.  All  of  them 
know  me  well.  So  I  walked  up  to  the  church  gate  and 
said:  'You  see,  I  am  your  friend.  I  only  want  to 
show  you  the  right.  It  is  my  duty  to  protect  your 
priest.  You  must  let  him  pass. '  * 

At  that  the  mob  broke  loose.  With  a  torrent  of 
loathly  language,  they  let  fly  a  volley  of  rocks.  Cap- 
tain Pitcher,  who  stood  in  the  gate  by  the  sheriff's 
side,  was  struck  a  terrific  blow  full  in  the  face  in  the 
first  instant.  Badly  hurt,  he  dropped,  unconscious. 
The  sheriff  was  felled  with  a  rock.  Private  Humer 
sustained  a  compound  fracture  of  the  skull,  that  nearly 
cost  him  his  life.  Private  Stevenson's  shoulder  blade 
was  split.  Corporal  Carlson's  arm  was  broken.  One 
trooper's  upper  jaw  was  crushed  and  his  teeth  were 
knocked  out. 

All  this  happened  in  the  first  impact.  In  a  moment 
Captain  Pitcher  was  up  again.  He  freed  his  eyes  as 
well  as  he  could  from  streaming  blood  and  from  the 
mustard  and  bits  of  broken  glass  that  a  motherly  soul 
had  implanted  there  in  the  moment  that  he  lay  helpless 


The  Cossack  Horde  219 

at  her  feet.  Then  he  telephoned  the  barracks  for 
twenty  men. 

The  crowd  occupied  the  interval  in  ripping  the 
heavier  pickets  off  the  fence ;  these,  because  of  the  rusty 
nails  protruding  from  their  ends,  made  weapons  suited 
to  their  taste. 

By  virtue  of  the  remarkable  work  done  by  Sergeant 
William  Clark,  who  displayed  much  resourcefulness,  the 
reinforcements  arrived  by  automobile  in  the  shortest 
time  humanly  possible.  Again  the  sheriff  called  upon 
the  crowd  to  disperse.  Again  his  demand  evoked  a 
storm  of  stones  and  invectives.  Then,  led  by  Captain 
Pitcher,  the  troopers  charged. 

Now  it  must  be  remembered  that  although  the 
rioters  in  the  churchyard  itself  were  within  reach  of  the 
troopers'  riot-sticks,  only  the  original  detail  had  been 
mounted  and  some  of  the  mounts  were  already  helpless, 
blood  gushing  from  their  mouths  and  eyes  from  the  fero- 
cious clubbing  and  gouging  inflicted  upon  them  by  the 
crowd.  Meantime,  the  garrison  on  the  porches  and  in 
the  steeple  balcony  held  a  commanding  position  from 
which  to  hurl  their  missiles. 

With  an  extraordinary  stubbornness  the  mob  held  its 
ground,  fighting  with  its  long-handled,  sharp-edged 
mine  shovels,  with  lengths  of  lead  pipe,  brass  knuckles, 
crowbars,  with  nail-studded  pickets,  and  with  heavy 
oak  clubs  bristling  with  nails,  while  the  church  building 
catapulted  stones  mingled  with  the  Amazonian  fire  of 
mustard,  pepper,  and  splintering  glass. 

But  little  by  little  the  crowd  was  driven  back,  sub- 
dued; one  by  one  the  ringleaders  were  cut  out  and 
herded  into  the  church  basement. 

Among  the  first  captives  so  lodged  were  five  men 
captured  by  Private  Blaine  G.  Walters.  The  Scranton 


220  Justice  to  All 

Republican  next  day  related  that  during  the  earlier 
fighting  the  church  bell  pealed  incessantly.  Trooper 
Walters,  detailed  to  investigate  the  ringing,  which  was 
afterward  learned  to  be  a  summons  for  recruits  to  the 
mob,  climbed  over  a  transom  in  the  rear  of  the  church, 
and,  unseen,  made  his  way  into  the  belfry. 
The  Republican  said: 

Looking  up,  he  spied  five  men  perched  high  in  the  steeple, 
one  ringing  the  bell  while  the  others  kept  watch.  Walters 
called  to  them  to  come  down,  they  refusing  and  threatening 
the  trooper  if  he  attempted  to  come  up  after  them.  A 
small  ladder  was  the  only  means  of  reaching  the  men,  so 
Walters  began  to  ascend  cautiously,  climbing  the  rear  side 
of  the  ladder  so  that  he  could  keep  facing  the  bell-ringers. 
When  he  reached  about  the  centre  of  the  belfry,  one  of 
them  advanced  down  the  ladder  with  a  large  club.  In  the 
fight  that  followed,  Walters  managed  to  beat  his  adversary 
off,  throwing  him  to  the  ground.  This  show  of  pluck  on  the 
part  of  the  trooper  sufficiently  cowed  the  other  four  rioters, 
who  submitted  to  arrest  without  any  further  trouble. 
Walters  marched  his  five  prisoners  to  the  basement. 

Finally,  the  last  insurgent,  save  those  imprisoned, 
had  taken  to  his  or  her  heels,  and  it  was  possible  to 
survey  the  scene  quietly.  One  rioter  was  dying,  killed 
by  a  revolver  shot.  Many  were  bruised.  Five  doctors, 
summoned  by  the  sheriff,  were  busy  giving  relief. 
But  the  troopers,  not  one  of  whom  had  escaped  scathe- 
less, had  sustained  the  most  serious  injuries,  and  their 
horses,  having  displayed  as  always  an  all-of -human 
loyalty  to  their  masters  in  peril,  had  suffered  cruelly 
for  their  faithful  hearts.  Only  one  firearm  had  been 
discharged  during  the  entire  affair  in  the  sheriff's 
party,  and  that  one  was  not  discharged  by  a  State 
Police  officer.  Seventy-eight  male  rioters,  under  guard 


The  Cossack  Horde  221 

in  the  basement  of  the  church,  awaited  the  arrival  of 
the  sheriff's  wagons. 

Brought  before  the  President  Judge,  these  were  held 
in  two  thousand  dollars  bail  each.  Of  the  seventy- 
eight,  every  one  gave  his  nationality  as  Austrian. 
Sixty-eight  were  Austrian  subjects,  four  were  natural- 
ized citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the  remaining  six 
had  applied  for  first  naturalization  papers.  More  than 
half  of  the  seventy-eight  could  neither  read  nor  write. 

As  soon  as  Sheriff  Buss  could  make  time  to  sit  down 
at  his  desk,  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the 
Superintendent  of  State  Police. 

...  I  desire  to  express  my  appreciation  for  the  services 
rendered  by  your  Troops  at  Dupont,  last  Sunday,  when  we 
were  attacked  by  a  mob  of  nearly  one  thousand  people 
while  endeavoring  to  execute  an  order  of  the  Luzerne 
County  Court. 

Every  man  present  on  that  occasion  displayed  the 
utmost  courage  and  bravery.  .  .  .  The  splendid  discipline 
of  the  men  under  the  most  difficult  conditions  is  a  source 
of  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  all  the  law-abiding  people  of 
this  community,  and  we  hear  nothing  but  the  highest 
praise  for  their  conduct  on  that  occasion.  The  entire 
community  has  expressed  its  sympathy  for  the  unfortunate 
Troopers  who  sustained  injuries,  and  I  assure  you  that  it 
will  afford  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  extend  every  assist- 
ance to  them  until  they  have  effected  a  complete  recovery. 

The  Philadelphia  Inquirer,  on  January  22,  1916, 
made  this  editorial  comment  on  the  affair: 

Throughout  the  struggle  the  troopers  kept  their  heads 
remarkably  well.  They  were  murderously  assailed  and 
the  law  would  have  protected  them  in  defending  themselves 
with  bullets  meant  to  kill.  But  not  a  shot  was  fired.  .  .  . 


222  Justice  to  All 

The  mob  was  well  organized.  Out  in  Youngstown  not 
long  ago  those  who  destroyed  so  much  property  were  not 
organized.  Had  they  been,  they  would  have  swept  the 
town  from  end  to  end,  and  killed  at  will.  Ohio  has  no 
State  Police.  It  ought  to  have.  So  ought  every  State  in 
the  Union. 

The  State's  troopers  did  splendid  work  at  Dupont,  just 
as  they  always  do.  They  made  it  possible  for  the  orders 
of  the  court  to  be  obeyed.  In  the  old  days  the  mob  would 
have  had  its  way  and  law  would  have  been  defied  success- 
fully, or  else  at  great  expense  the  militia  would  have  been 
summoned,  with  probable  shooting  or  bayoneting. 

The  Pennsylvania  Legislature  did  a  wise  thing  when  it 
created  the  State  Police.  It  would  have  continued  in  the 
paths  of  wisdom  had  it  increased  the  size  of  the  force,  which 
is  almost  pitifully  small.  But  ...  it  has  been  afraid  to 
perform  its  duty.  It  has  listened  to  the  opponents  .  .  . 
instead  of  to  the  dictates  of  common  sense,  forgetful  of  the 
fact  that  no  one  is  opposed  to  the  State  Police  except 
those  who  sympathize  with  mob  rule. 

We  are  hearing  a  good  deal  about  preparedness.  .  .  . 
But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  preparedness  in  a  State.  What 
is  the  best  way  to  enforce  order  when  the  spirit  of  the  mob 
is  abroad?  Unquestionably  the  answer  lies  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  force  of  State  Police  large  enough  to  handle  any 
emergency. 

For  genuine  preparedness — the  State  Police ! 

The  comment  of  a  famous  police  official  of  long  and 
wide  experience  was  tuned  to  an  even  graver  key: 

We  undoubtedly  need  to  be  prepared,  but  not  for  any 
foreign  foe.  We  cannot  escape  our  share  of  the  horrors  and 
suffering  that  the  rest  of  the  world  is  now  enduring.  Our 
turn  is  bound  to  come,  and  soon.  When  it  does  come,  I 
believe  it  will  come  not  through  Germany  or  Japan,  but 
through  the  lawless  element  in  this  country.  When  it 


The  Cossack  Horde  223 

does  start,  it  will  start  in  many  widely  separated  places 
at  one  and  the  same  time.  It  will  run  like  a  prairie  fire. 
And  we  have  no  fire  department. 


It  was  in  October,  1915,  that  the  Wilkes-Barre 
street  car  strike  began.  To-day,  over  twelve  months 
later,  that  strike  is  still  current.  Much  rioting,  much 
dynamiting,  much  cowardly  boycotting  and  assault, 
much  criminal  activity  has  marked  its  progress,  during 
which  the  victimized  city  has  offered  a  strange  lesson 
to  a  nation  that  can  ill  afford  to  let  it  pass  unmarked. 
At  one  period,  tributary  disorders  grew  so  great  in  the 
territory  surrounding  the  city  that  the  presence  of  the 
entire  State  Police  squadron  was  necessary  to  keep 
the  peace.  As  to  the  city  itself,  the  Mayor,  for  reasons 
of  his  own,  was  long  determined  not  to  invite  the 
State's  arm  to  operate  within  the  limits  of  his  jurisdic- 
tion. Facing  the  necessity  of  some  extraordinary 
step,  he  therefore  had  recourse  to  hiring  a  body  of  ex- 
policemen  from  Philadelphia  to  supplement  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  corps.  The  new  recruits,  however,  took  so 
promptly  to  the  saloons,  it  was  said,  and  proved  so 
generally  rough  and  unmanageable,  that  the  authorities 
were  obliged  almost  at  once  to  lock  them  up  until  they 
could  be  shipped  back  to  their  own  place. 

"The  city  spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  hiring  special 
policemen  to  preserve  the  law  and  maintain  order, " 
the  Mayor  now  testifies,  "but  the  experiment  was  very 
costly  and  the  results  not  so  satisfactory  as  we  desired 
them." 

Dynamiting,  rioting,  destruction  of  property  and 
brutal  attacks  even  upon  the  few  women  who  dared 
to  ride  in  the  cars,  multiplied  within  city  limits,  and  the 
municipal  authorities  were  boldly  defied.  Month 


224  Justice  to  All 

after  month  passed.  Still  the  scandal  grew  and  still  the 
Mayor  could  not  bring  himself  to  do  the  thing  that  the 
rioting  section  of  his  constituents  would  hate — to  ask 
the  State  Police  to  enter  the  city  and  give  her  peace. 

At  last,  as  late  as  September,  1916,  the  Mayor  suc- 
cumbed. Patiently  though  they  had  endured  a  year 
of  crazy  tumult,  the  people,  it  seems,  had  at  last  been 
driven  to  return  to  the  street  cars  in  large  numbers. 
The  hardship  and  loss  of  time  entailed  by  walking 
everywhere  in  all  conditions  and  in  all  weathers,  and  the 
treatment  accorded  them  by  the  jitney  owners,  had 
combined  to  make  them  determine  to  risk  their  lives 
in  the  regularly  running  but  empty  trams.  Then  the 
murderous  attacks  of  rioters  redoubled.  Forced  to 
protect  the  peaceful  citizens,  the  Mayor  ordered  his 
city  police  to  ride  on  the  cars.  This  a  large  percentage 
of  them  refused  to  do,  and  on  October  loth  there  were 
twenty-three  vacancies  on  the  city  force.  Compelled 
thus  by  certain  desperate  occasions,  the  Mayor  turned 
to  the  State  Police — with  the  usual  result. 

Meantime  a  most  curious  phenomenon  had  been 
developing.  The  United  Mine  Workers  of  America 
as  represented  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  had  actually 
flung  themselves  bodily  into  the  arms  of  the  Cossack 
horde!  Scared,  bullied,  driven,  murderously  assaulted, 
they  had  run  to  their  often-proved  and  ever-faithful 
lawful  protectors  crying  for  help.  And  the  help,  as 
always,  had  been  extended  with  a  strong  and  generous 
hand. 

During  the  spring  months,  agitators  of  the  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World,  in  flying  visits,  had  added  their 
weight  to  the  burdens  laid  upon  the  Wyoming  Valley. 
Among  the  Italian  coal-miners  they  found  a  ready  ear 
for  their  doctrine  of  violence,  and  soon  were  ranging 


The  Cossack  Horde  225 

these  people  in  arms  against  their  neighbors  and  fellow- 
laborers,  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America.  Of  the 
latter  organization  many  of  the  Italians  were  members, 
but  the  I.  W.  W.  propaganda  proved  strong  magic  to 
draw  them  away  from  the  earlier  bond.  The  whole 
social  scheme  being  wrong,  all  work  must  stop.  At- 
tacks upon  the  United  Mine  Workers  going  to  and 
from  their  employment  increased  daily  in  numbers  and 
in  violence.  The  miners  had  no  desire  to  strike,  wanted 
to  earn  their  bread,  and  went  in  terror  of  their  lives. 
Again  and  again  did  they  and  the  women  of  their  house- 
holds appeal  to  the  Sheriffs  of  Luzerne  and  Lackawanna 
Counties  for  protection.  Again  and  again  were  details 
from  "B"  Troop  sent  to  their  relief. 

Near  Dupont,  upon  an  early  occasion,  several  hun- 
dreds of  miners  in  conclave  were  set  upon  by  a  gang 
of  I.  W.  W.'s  so  malignant  in  their  threats  that  the 
union  men  dared  not  stir.  A  hurry  call  was  telephoned 
to  the  Wyoming  barracks,  to  which  Captain  Pitcher 
responded  by  ordering  to  the  spot  the  three  State 
Police  officers  at  the  nearest  substation.  These  three 
troopers  promptly  arrested  and  conveyed  to  jail  thirty- 
five  of  the  I.  W.  W.  demonstrators  and  dispersed  the 
rest,  releasing  the  union  miners  from  their  duress. 

Again,  in  April,  1916,  entirely  against  the  will  of 
the  United  Mine  Workers,  the  I.  W.  W.  leaders  decided 
to  close  down  certain  of  the  collieries  about  Scranton. 
The  method  employed  by  the  I.  W.  W.'s  was  to  picket 
the  collieries  in  the  early  morning  hours,  from  four 
o'clock  until  seven,  to  urge  the  men  not  to  go  to  work, 
and  then,  if  unsuccessful  by  that  means,  to  attack 
them  and  drive  them  off  by  force.  Here  again,  another 
able  officer,  Sheriff  Phillips  of  Lackawanna  County, 
called  upon  the  State  Police  to  protect  the  United 
is 


226  Justice  to  All 

Mine  Workers,  and  in  three  days'  time  this  locality 
was  restored  to  peace. 

Not  only  did  appeals  to  the  State  Police  from  locals 
of  United  Mine  Workers,  attacked  and  in  distress, 
now  become  frequent,  but  another  union  body  for  the 
time  especially  conspicuous  at  last  formally  and  publicly 
recognized  its  best  friend.  The  striking  carmen  of 
Wilkes-Barre  by  one  conclusive  deed  showed  their  true 
estimate  of  the  evil  words  concerning  the  Force  so  often 
thrust  into  their  mouths. 

For  the  Fourth  of  July  they  were  planning  a  great 
picnic.  "  Labor  will  show  its  strength  in  the  Wyoming 
Valley.  .  .  .  All  the  sons  and  daughters  of  toil  will  get 
together  on  this  memorable  day  and  sound  a  high  note  of 
freedom.  Every  union  man  and  wife  should  be  in 
line. ' '  So  they  heralded  it  for  weeks  in  advance.  They 
made  their  preparations  on  a  grand  scale.  They 
brought  the  people  out  in  swarms.  But  before  the  day 
arrived,  and  in  order  to  make  quite  sure  that  all  should 
go  off  happily  and  well  on  an  occasion  so  conspicuous, 
the  Central  Labor  Union  sent  a  delegation  to  Captain 
Pitcher  of  Wyoming  barracks  to  ask  for  a  detail  of  four 
State  Police  officers  to  protect  the  speakers  from 
possible  violence  should  the  I.  W.  W.'s  break  loose,  and 
to  maintain  order  during  the  proceedings.  Their 
request  was  granted,  the  picnic  was  a  great  success,  and 
the  orators  of  the  day,  chief  and  most  fervid  of  whom 
was  the  President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Federation  of 
Labor,  gracefully  omitted  stock  references  to  a  bloody 
Cossack  horde  whose  iron  heel  grinds  the  flesh  of  the 
struggling  workingman. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   TABLES  TURNED 

BUT  the  I.  W.  W.'s  were  not  easily  quieted,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  their  agitators  were  birds  of  passage, 
like  to  suffer  nothing  from  the  trouble  they  stirred  up, 
while  their  proselytes  were  a  mass  of  wild  aliens  of 
intelligence  too  slight  or  too  befogged  to  grasp  the 
significance  of  their  own  acts.  And  they  redoubled 
their  persecutions  of  the  union  men.  From  the  files 
of  the  State  Police  Department  the  following  plea  may 
be  taken  as  representative  of  a  large  number  of  similar 
appeals: 

MOCANAQUA,  PA.,  Aug.  15,  1916. 

The  Commanding  Officer, 
Troop  "B,"  State  Police, 

Wyoming,  Penn. 
DEAR  SIR: 

Local  #1157  United  Mine  Workers  of  America,  holding 
a  meeting  at  Mocanaqua,  Pa.,  August  i6th,  are  anticipating 
trouble  from  outsiders  and  desire  the  protection  and  presence 
of  Penna.  State  Police  so  that  we  may  hold  this  meeting 
without  interruption  or  disorder. 

Very  respectfully, 
ALEX  SMITH, 

Secretary  Local  #1157. 

By  September  3d,  the  Scmntonian,  a  journal  that 
had  heretofore  professed  bitterest  hostility  to  the 
State  Police,  was  driven  by  actual  conditions  into  com- 

227 


228  Justice  to  All 

plete  abandonment  of  an  indefensible  ground.  A 
fresh  outbreak  of  I.  W.  W.  madness  had  occurred  at 
Old  Forge  on  September  1st,  in  which  some  six  hundred 
rioters  had  been  concerned.  Of  the  ringleaders  ar- 
rested, says  the  Scrantonian,  not  one  was  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States.  Of  their  subject  of  complaint,  their 
own  poster  proclamation  read : 

Working  Men: 

Twenty  thousand  mine  workers  of  Minnesota  are  striking 
to  better  the  conditions  for  their  families. 

The  organizers  and  agitators  are  put  in  jail  without 
reason. 

We,  the  Anthracite  Region  Miners,  want  to  help  and 
protest  at  this  outrage,  and  declare  from  to-day  a  general 
strike. 

Workers:    It  is  a  duty  of  ours  to  help  and  fight  the 
outrage  in  favor  of  our  comrades  who  have  been  put  in  jail 
to  see  that  they  get  their  freedom. 
Workingmen : 

Don't  go  to  work  to-day.  Don't  be  an  accomplice  to  the 
crime  which  the  Steel  Co.  are  guilty  of.  We  have  at  this 
time  some  deliberations. 

First — All  prisoners  must  be  liberated. 

Second — Abolition  of  contract  work. 

Third — Better  wages  and  more  respect. 

Hurrah  for  solidarity  and  for  general  strike ! 

THE  COMMITTEE. 

This  appeal,  it  seems,  moved  the  union  men  not  at 
all.  Ettor  himself  had  preached  to  them  from  time  to 
time.  Perhaps  he  had  endeavored  to  charm  their 
fancies  with  the  picture  presented  to  that  great  New 
York  audience  in  Carnegie  Hall  that  he  and  his  con- 
frere Giovanetti  addressed — the  picture  of  a  glorious 
strike  to  come,  in  which  the  city  subway  should  be 


The  Tables  Turned  229 

clogged,  stuffed,  stopped,  with  the  bodies  of  the  dead — 
with  bodies  of  train-crews,  and  of  the  common  people 
going  about  their  work — all  heaped  in  one  colossal, 
bleeding  wreck  by  scientific,  heroic,  admirable  sabotage. 
Indignantly,  the  Scrantonian  goes  on: 

When  the  strike  was  first  declared  it  was  stated  that  it 
was  because  Joe  Ettor  and  the  leaders  of  the  anarchistic 
organization  had  been  imprisoned  in  the  West.  It  was 
further  stated  that  the  strike  would  continue  till  its  mischief 
makers  were  liberated.  The  strike  is,  therefore,  not  due 
to  any  action  on  the  part  of  the  United  Mine  Workers, 
but  to  the  members  of  the  I.  W.  W.,  who  have  caused 
similar  disturbances  in  the  past. 

While  they  talk  about  the  preservation  of  peace  and  their 
cooperation  with  authorities,  they  have  not  only  created 
disturbances  but  have  defied  authority. 

The  Scrantonian  does  not  like  that!  Continuing,  it 
prints  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  I.  W.  W.  strikers 
at  their  mass  meeting.  One  resolution  practically 
identical  with  that  again  and  again  adopted  in  times 
past  by  striking  federated  labor  bodies  particularly 
arouses  the  Scrantonian' s  wrath,  in  that  it  demands  of 
the  civil  authorities  that  no  State  Police  with  their 
"over-riding,  over-bearing,  un-American  methods " 
be  brought  into  the  borough,  "as  the  striking  miners 
will  guarantee  that  no  disturbance  shall  take  place  to 
affect  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  residents." 

Says  the  Scrantonian: 

That  resolution,  simply  means  "Let  us  have  our  own 
way  and  we  won't  make  any  trouble"  and  can  only  be 
construed  as  a  covered  defiance  of  the  properly  constituted 
authorities.  Yesterday  one  of  the  strikers,  who  was 
probably  at  the  meeting  when  the  above  resolution  was 


230  Justice  to  All 

framed,  attacked  a  State  Constable  and  got  his  head  pretty 
well  battered  for  his  folly.  The  fellow  is  now  in  the  county 
jail  with  two  of  his  fellow-strikers  who  will  not  let  peaceable 
men  work. 

The  whole  argument  of  the  Scrantonian,  fierce  enemy 
of  the  Force  that  it  has  hitherto  been,  presents  so  perfect 
an  example,  in  every  least  detail,  of  the  complete  re- 
versal of  the  old  union  labor  position — a  reversal  logi- 
cally bound  to  come  whenever  union  labor  should 
have  found  itself  not  the  assailant  but  the  assailed — 
that,  despite  its  length,  it  must  be  given  here. 

The  vile  conditions  in  the  saloons,  brothels,  and  other 
dens  in  Old  Forge  are  largely  responsible  for  existing 
conditions.  There  is  no  regard  for  law,  and  little  attempt 
made  to  enforce  it  if  the  workers  of  iniquity  stand  in  with 
the  powers  that  be.  ...  Meanwhile  the  members  of  the 
I.  W.  W.  are  being  permitted  to  do  pretty  much  as  they 
please  as  far  as  the  local  authorities  are  concerned  and  out- 
side interference  is  absolutely  necessary,  while  it  is  pretty 
safe  to  say  that  the  State  Constabulary  will  take  a  hand  in 
cleaning  up  things. 

The  Force  is  maintained  by  the  Commonwealth  for 
just  such  service,  and  as  the  I.  W.  W.  is  openly  opposed 
to  the  laws  of  the  land,  to  property  and  business  rights,  etc., 
ringleaders  in  the  Old  Forge  disturbances  will  do  well  to 
stop  and  think  for  a  little  while  before  they  carry  their 
nonsense  any  farther.  .  .  . 

The  State  Constabulary  is  made  up,  for  the  most  part, 
of  as  fine  a  class  of  men  as  ever  wore  uniforms.  They  will 
interfere  with  no  law-abiding  citizens,  but  when  it  comes 
to  the  performance  of  duty  the  only  law  known  to  them  is 
obedience.  It  is  their  high  quality  that  the  I.  W.  W.  fears, 
hence  the  fake  argument  for  their  being  kept  away  from 
Old  Forge  and  the  open  threat  that  their  presence  will  lead 


Photograph,  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 

DAY    BEGINS 


The  Tables  Turned  231 

to  violence.  If  the  time  has  come  when  State  officers  of 
the  law  may  not  go  where  their  services  are  required,  then 
there  is  something  radically  wrong.  .  .  . 

The  law  gives  men  the  right  to  organize  for  peaceful 
purposes  and  even  for  self-protection.  .  .  .  But  the  law 
does  not  permit  any  body  of  men  to  flaunt  defiance  at  legally 
constituted  authority,  and  that  is  what  is  done  in  the 
resolutions  printed  above. 

Examination  of  the  daily  reports  of  "B"  Troop  at 
this  period  develops  the  fact  not  only  that  almost  the 
whole  time  of  the  Troop  is  devoted  to  the  protection  of 
United  Mine  Workers,  but  that  the  troopers  are  crowd- 
ing two  and  a  half  union  working  days  into  one  to 
cover  the  duty. 

Taking  the  day  of  September  6th  as  an  example,  it 
appears  that  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  details  were 
already  on  duty  in  the  vicinity  of  five  different  groups 
of  collieries  to  protect  union  men  going  to  their  work. 
But,  because  fifty  men  were  too  few  to  cover  the  whole 
field  at  once,  some  disorder  nevertheless  took  place. 
For  example,  a  savage  outbreak  led  by  a  band  of 
maniacal  women  occurred  at  Browntown,  an  unpro- 
tected point,  and  the  beleaguered  miners,  in  peril  of 
their  lives,  raised  a  long,  loud  cheer  as  a  little  detail 
of  troopers  came  galloping  to  their  rescue.  Attacks 
multiplied  all  through  the  day  and  many  miners  in 
uncovered  situations  were  cruelly  beaten. 

That  night  the  United  Mine  Workers  again  begged 
for  protection  for  their  own  mass-meeting,  while  union 
leaders  worked  desperately  to  keep  their  men  together. 
It  was,  quite  literally,  a  question  of  the  union's  life. 
"If  the  I.  W.  W.  succeeds  here,  the  unions  must  go," 
said  board-member  Peter  O'Donnell. 

At  this  point,  it  is  interesting  to  recall  the  bill  intro- 


232  Justice  to  All 

duced  in  the  Legislature  of  1913  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Federation  of  Labor.1  Had  Mr.  Stein's  measure 
become  law  the  State  Police  would  thereby  have  been 
forbidden  to  lift  a  finger  to  protect  the  United  Mine 
Workers  of  the  Wyoming  valley  from  any  enormity 
that  their  ferocious  enemies  might  have  chosen  to 
invent.  And  it  would  probably  have  cost  the  United 
Mine  Workers'  organization  its  life. 

On  September  7th,  two  union  men's  homes  were 
dynamited,  and  the  burgess  of  Old  Forge,  it  was  stated, 
despite  his  alleged  connivance  at  I.  W.  W.  outrages, 
was  frightened  into  moving  his  family  out  of  the  place. 
The  I.  W.  W.  threatened  to  destroy  his  house,  with 
his  family  in  it,  unless  he  secured  the  withdrawal  of  the 
State  Police. 

At  a  meeting  of  United  Mine  Workers  convened  near 
the  Heidelberg  Colliery  that  morning,  while  union  lead- 
ers were  fervently  exhorting  the  miners  to  remain  loyal 
to  their  organization,  a  large  force  o!  I.  W.  W.'s  burst 
in,  got  many  unionists  to  leave,  and  then  broke  up  the 
meeting  by  wild  disorder.  The  Heidelberg  Colliery  was 
lying  idle,  and  the  United  Mine  Workers  were  being 
held  back  from  work,  solely  by  I.  W.  W.  terrorization. 

It  was  during  September  7th,  also,  that  the  I.  W.  W.'s, 
who  until  now  had  used  missiles,  knives,  clubs,  and  brass 
knuckles  in  their  onslaughts,  began  to  attack  the 
union  men  with  guns,  firing  even  at  the  little  breaker- 
boys,  children  of  union  men,  on  the  way  to  work. 
But  by  rushing  in  automobiles  from  one  colliery  to 
another,  the  Troop  details  were  able  to  prevent  any 
outbreak  gaining  headway.  The  Troop's  mileage 
that  day  reached  one  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-three  miles. 

1  See  pp.  209-10  ante. 


The  Tables  Turned  233 

On  the  night  of  the  7th,  the  president  of  the  United 
Mine  Workers'  Local  again  entreated  protection  for  his 
people's  meeting  to  be  held  in  Dupont.  Here  the 
I.  W.  W.'s,  intruding,  were  so  infuriated  by  the  union 
men's  continued  desire  to  work  that  they  burst  forth 
into  a  demonstration  that  would  have  been  murderous 
but  for  the  presence  of  a  strong  State  Police  detachment. 

Some  idea  of  the  abnormal  and  concentrated  nature 
of  the  service  now  demanded  of  "B"  Troop  may  be 
gathered  from  the  regular  report  of  the  commanding 
officer,  covering  the  nth  of  September.  This  report 
chances  to  concern  the  day  on  which  the  mayor  of 
Wilkes-Barre  decided  to  call  the  State's  arm  to  the 
aid  of  his  long-harried  city. 

On  account  of  the  enforcement  of  the  jitney  ordinance 
on  this  date  Mayor  John  V.  Kozak,  through  Sheriff  George 
F.  Buss,  requested  the  assistance  of  the  State  Police  to  quell 
any  disturbance  that  might  arise  in  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  .  .  . 

In  view  of  the  above  fact,  a  detail  consisting  of  Lieutenant 
Price,  First  Sergeant  Smith,  Sergeant  Dearolf,  Corporal 
Stevenson,  and  seventeen  privates  was  stationed  at  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Court  House  throughout  the  day.  Of  this 
detail  four  men  were  stationed  at  four  different  entrances 
of  the  city  to  assist  the  Wilkes-Barre  police.  .  .  .  Later, 
upon  request  of  the  Mayor,  the  total  detail  was  moved  from 
the  Court  House  to  the  City  Hall  at  7.30  P.M.,  as  rioting  was 
anticipated  at  any  minute  in  the  Square ;  hundreds  of  people 
had  congregated  at  this  point  and  it  was  becoming  more 
difficult  for  the  local  police  to  control  the  crowd. 

At  8.00  P.M.,  Mayor  Kozak  stated  to  Lieutenant  Price 
that  the  situation  was  beyond  the  control  of  his  officers, 
and  requested  the  Lieutenant  and  his  detail  to  proceed  to 
the  Square  and  disperse  the  crowd.  The  detail  proceeded 
to  the  Square  and  began  moving  the  crowd,  and  in  five 


234  Justice  to  All 

minutes  the  Square  was  cleared  and  order  restored.  .  .  . 
One  arrest  was  made  by  our  detail.  ...  In  addition  to 
preserving  order  in  the  Square  .  .  .  the  detail  dispersed 
crowds  at  Hancock  and  Market  Streets  and  Scott  Street, 
East  End ;  also  order  was  preserved  at  a  fire  which  occurred 
at  Northampton  and  Washington  streets.  This  detail  was 
on  duty  from  5  A.M.  September  nth  to  i  A.M.  September 
I2th. 

In  addition  to  the,  above  duty  the  balance  of  the  Troop 
patrolled  at  collieries  in  the  upper  end  of  Luzerne  County, 
and  Old  Forge,  Lackawanna  County, '  at  which  points 
disorder  was  quelled,  the  same  being  caused  by  I.  W.  W. 
activities.  The  above  details  were  on  duty  from  4.30  A.M. 
to  6.00  P.M.,  and  remained  on  reserve  at  barracks  until 
12.00  midnight,  at  which  time  they  retired.  The  entire 
Troop  for  the  past  ten  days  has  been  on  duty  continuously, 
arising  at  3.30  A.M.  in  order  that  they  may  reach  the  different 
points  by  the  time  the  miners  start  to  work.  The  majority 
of  them  remain  on  duty  during  the  day,  doing  reserve  duty 
at  night.  The  long  hours  are  absolutely  necessary,  due  to 
the  conditions  which  exist  in  Luzerne  and  Lackawanna 
counties. 

The  "disorders"  so  lightly  touched  in  the  final  para- 
graph might  have  received  more  extended  notice  from 
another  pen.  In  Dupont,  during  the  day  of  the  nth, 
a  crowd  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  persons 
gathered  in  the  streets  listening  to  harangues  of  I.  W.  W. 
agitators  from  New  York,  Chicago,  and  Minnesota, 
who  worked  their  hearers  into  frenzy  with  their  out- 
rageous tongues.  Sheriff  Buss  walked  into  this  assem- 
bly and  warned  it  that  disorder  would  not  be  tolerated, 
whereupon  the  mob  turned  upon  him.  The  six  State 
Policemen  who  formed  the  sheriff's  escort  knew  them- 
selves too  few  to  handle  a  mob  of  that  dimension  and 
temper  without  resort  to  their  revolvers ;  so,  arresting  a 


The  Tables  Turned  235 

ringleader,  they  backed  out  of  the  crowd  to  the  sheriff's 
car  under  cover  of  their  own  guns. 

At  Exeter,  during  this  same  morning,  the  two  troopers 
allotted  to  protect  the  union  men  at  that  point  were 
obliged  to  call*  for  help  from  the  barracks  to  save  the 
miners  from  the  ferocity  of  their  enemies. 

And  thus,  while  the  Carmen's  Union  mob  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  was  shouting  "Scab!"  at  the  detachment  of 
State's  officers  that  had  responded  to  the  mayor's 
call  to  save  the  city's  peace  and  people  from  violence 
at  their  hands  other  detachments  of  State's  officers  were 
arresting  men  for  shouting  "Scab!"  at  United  Mine 
Workers  and  for  seeking  United  Mine  Workers'  lives. 
And  but  for  that  strong  intervention  many  miners' 
lives  would  undoubtedly  have  been  sacrificed,  and 
many  miners'  homes  reduced  to  shreds  and  ashes. 

The  Wilkes-Barre  Record  of  September  I2th  relates 
that  the  I.  W.  W.'s  have  begun  an  effective  campaign 
of  terrorization  by  means  of  night  visits.  "The  fear 
that  these  men  have  inspired  in  the  union  miners  is 
almost  unbelievable,"  it  exclaims. 

In  fulfillment  of  the  threats  of  their  nocturnal 
emissaries,  the  I.  W.  W.'s  now  began  individual  at- 
tacks. One  victim  was  John  Panuskey  of  Dupont,  who, 
because  he  would  not  quit  the  union,  nearly  lost  his 
life.  The  Philadelphia  Record's  despatch  said  of  this 
incident  next  day: 

Panuskey  is  hovering  between  life  and  death.  He  was 
set  upon  by  a  band  of  four  I.  W.  W.'s  at  midnight  while  on 
his  way  home  from  work.  He  was  asked  to  join  the  "Reds" 
and,  when  he  refused,  was  terribly  beaten.  One  of  the  as- 
sailants drew  a  knife  and  hacked  his  face  and  body.  When 
he  was  almost  dead  he  was  left  in  the  field  and  the  I.  W.  W. 
force  departed.  .  .  .  John  Fabor  and  Andrew  Bruno  were 


236  Justice  to  All 

* 

arrested  by   State  troopers   to-day,  charged   with   being 
members  of  the  assaulting  band. 


Greater,  however,  than  the  union  men's  dread  of 
murder  by  visible  hands  was  their  dread  of  dynamite 
at  night.  The  weapon  had  so  often  been  used  on  their 
own  behalf  against  non-union  men  that  they  knew  its 
terrors  well.  Frank  Loughney,  for  the  usual  offense 
of  having  refused  to  leave  the  union  for  the  I.  W.  W.'s, 
but  narrowly  escaped  death  when  his  house  in  Cork 
Lane  was  shattered  by  explosives  during  the  black 
hours  of  sleep.  The  floors  of  the  house  were  blown  out 
and  Loughney  and  his  wife  dropped  from  the  second 
story  into  the  cellar.  Both  were  terribly  shaken  and 
bruised.  And  this  was  but  one  of  the  many  union 
families  attacked  by  the  coward's  messenger.  At 
Duryea  a  feature  was  the  destruction  of  the  school- 
house,  recently  finished  at  a  cost  of  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  by  fire. 

Sheriff  Buss  daily  issued  many  temporary  deputies' 
licenses  to  union  men  in  order  that  they  might  lawfully 
carry  revolvers  for  the  defense  of  their  lives,  and  he 
promised — and  they  knew  he  would  keep  his  word — 
to  protect  them  to  the  full  extent  of  his  power.  But 
the  men  were  fairly  melting  with  fear.  It  was  at  best 
an  open  question  whether  they  could  bear  the  strain, 
whether  union  officers  could  prevent  their  dissolving 
in  panic  and,  however  unwillingly,  leaving  their  own 
organization  for  the  hated  "Reds." 

Lackawanna  County  was  keeping  well  abreast  of 
Luzerne  during  all  this  period.  The  Philadelphia 
Public  Ledger  j  on  September  i8th,  published  an  in- 
teresting review  in  the  form  of  a  Scran  ton  despatch. 
After  dealing  with  the  long  troubles  of  the  summer — 


The  Tables  Turned  237 

with  the  life  of  battles,  beatings,  bloodshed,  and  terror 
by  night  and  by  noontide  endured  by  the  union  men 
— it  took  up  the  situation  of  the  day. 

Three  weeks  ago,  the  second  strike  in  Old  Forge  was 
called  by  the  Industrial  Workers,  although  they  made  no 
demands  on  the  mine  owners  for  more  wages  or  shorter 
hours.  They  simply  struck  for  the  sake  of  striking,  and 
hundreds  of  pickets,  thronging  the  streets  of  the  town, 
prevented  Union  men  from  going  to  work.  Town  police 
sympathized  with  the  disturbers,  although  men  were  being 
beaten  up  every  day  and  murder  threats  were  frequent. 
Burgess  Martin  Memolo,  himself  a  former  organizer  of  the 
United  Mine  Workers,  insisted  that  conditions  were  peace- 
able in  the  borough!  Then  Sheriff  Phillips  tried  to  settle 
the  strike.  Following  conferences  with  the  leaders  in  the 
beginning  of  the  week  of  September  i  ith,  he  believed  he  had 
succeeded.  .  .  .  But  as  soon  as  the  sheriff's  men  were 
withdrawn,  the  strikers  called  a  meeting  at  which  a  resolu- 
tion was  passed  decreeing  that  the  sheriff  and  the  leader 
of  the  State  Police  should  be  killed,  while  pledging  them- 
selves to  continue  to  fight. 

This  touch  was  too  much  for  Sheriff  Phillips.  He 
knew  perfectly  well  that  the  bloody  resolution  was  no 
idle  bravado,  but  that  it  was  abundantly  certain  of 
going  into  effect  whenever  safe  opportunity  offered. 
He  was  reliably  informed,  also,  that  the  I.  W.  W.  leaders 
at  Old  Forge  were  planning  to  hold  their  daily  meeting 
on  September  1 4th,  contrary  both  to  their  promise 
and  to  his  own  explicit  orders;  that  they  intended  pre- 
cipitating a  general  outbreak  on  the  following  day; 
and  that  on  that  same  day,  September  I5th,  they  meant 
to  fire  the  fuse  for  a  grand  explosion  in  a  distant  quarter 
of  the  county,  so  that  the  sheriff  should  be  unable  to 
cope  with  the  double  crisis. 


238  Justice  to  All 

If  the  meeting  called  for  the  noon  of  the  I4th  was  al- 
lowed to  take  place,  the  two  widely  separated  out- 
breaks designed  for  the  next  day  would  follow  in  due 
order.  Could  the  sheriff  stop  it?  The  sheriff  con- 
ceived a  means  with  which  the  incendiaries,  blindly 
enough,  were  not  reckoning.  He  appealed  to  the 
Black  Hussars. 

Lieutenant  Wilson  C.  Price  and  sixteen  troopers  were 
patrolling  about  Old  Forge  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 4th,  for  the  protection  of  the  union  men.  After  such 
of  these  as  dared  to  appear  had  been  safeguarded  on 
their  errands,  Lieutenant  Price  led  his  detail  straight 
down  the  main  thoroughfare  and  away,  as  if  homeward 
bound  for  Wyoming  barracks.  Once  out  of  sight, 
however,  the  lieutenant  changed  his  course,  swung 
into  the  cover  of  a  wood,  and,  making  a  detour  of  the 
town,  reached  a  point  about  a  mile  back  of  the  hall  in 
which  the  I.  W.  W.  meeting  was  to  take  place.  There 
the  detail  waited,  out  of  sight. 

By  eleven  o'clock  the  strangely  named  "Indus- 
trial Workers"  began  gathering  at  the  hall.  Mrs. 
Schwartz,  wife  of  the  proprietor,  refused  them  entrance 
and  repeated  the  sheriff's  prohibition. 

"To  hell  with  the  sheriff!  We  are  going  to  meet 
here  and  no  sheriff  shall  stop  us, "  shouted  a  leader  and, 
dashing  the  woman  aside,  the  crowd  rushed  in,  confident 
that  no  authority  would  dare  to  interfere. 

Sheriff's  deputies  Jones  and  Phillips  were  stationed 
near  the  hall,  and  when  it  became  evident  that  the 
meeting  was  well  under  way,  these  sent  word  to  Lieu- 
tenant Price.  With  every  nerve  on  edge  the  troopers 
were  in  the  saddle  in  a  moment  and  the  wild  dash  had 
started. 

Lieutenant  Price,  benign  streak-lightning  that  he 


The  Tables  Turned  239 

is,  gave  no  time  for  warning  and  escape  by  displaying 
his  force  on  the  circuitous  length  of  the  highroads. 
He  struck  across  country  as  the  crow  flies. 

The  Scranton  Republican  goes  on  with  the  narra- 
tive: 

Urging  their  horses  at  top  speed,  the  troopers,  moving 
in  double  file,  rode  over  fields  and  culm  banks,  jumped 
ditches  and  fences.  A  cloud  of  dust  marked  their  swift 
progress.  When  the  hall  was  reached  the  horses  were 
white  with  foam  and  perspiration  was  dripping  from  every 
pore  of  the  horsemen.  The  trip  resembled  a  western  cattle 
round-up.  Five  troopers  were  set  to  guard  a  rear  door, 
while  two  rode  right  on  into  the  hallway  from  Main 
Street.  There  was  scarcely  room  there  for  their  horses  to 
stand. 

With  shouts  of ' '  The  troopers  are  here !  The  troopers  are 
here!"  a  general  scramble  started  inside  the  hall.  The 
rear  door  was  opened  by  one  of  the  five  troopers  on  guard. 
Scared,  surprised  faces  greeted  the  troopers  from  within 
and  for  a  moment  not  a  sound  was  heard.  "  Let's  get  the 
troopers!"  shouted  one  of  the  leaders,  and  there  was  'a  rush 
for  the  doors.  It  was  short-lived,  however,  for  the  exits 
were  blocked  by  the  troopers  and  their  horses.  .  .  .  Three 
other  troopers  drove  the  curious  crowds  from  the  sidewalk. 
Urging  their  horses,  they  forced  the  mob  back  from  the  hall 
and  held  them  within  a  block  of  it. 

Thus  the  incendiaries  were  cribbed  securely  until 
the  sheriff's  hastily  issued  orders  could  summon  vehicles 
for  their  transportation  to  the  county  jail.  Trucks, 
coal  wagons,  jitneys,  private  cars — any  and  every 
vehicle  within  reach  was  commandeered  without 
ceremony,  and  every  owner  or  driver  rushed  enchanted 
to  contribute  his  share  toward  the  downfall  of  the 
common  foe. 


240  Justice  to  All 

The  Republican  continues: 

When  the  time  came  for  loading  the  prisoners  into  the 
vehicles  a  half  dozen  troopers  and  deputies  stood  inside  the 
hall,  searching  the  men  as  they  were  being  marched  out. 
A  hundred  knives,  stilettos  and  razors  were  found. 

After  the  last  prisoner  was  entrained  for  transporta- 
tion, the  troopers  searched  the  hall.  Again  a  large 
assortment  of  knives  and  daggers,  hastily  cast  aside, 
was  gleaned  from  among  the  litter  on  the  floor,  where 
I.  W.  W.  buttons,  be  it  remarked,  lay  like  autumn 
leaves  in  a  hedgerow,  not  a  button  being  found  on  any 
prisoner  when  the  convoy  reached  the  jail. 

Then  the  procession  began  to  move.  The  streets 
were  crowded  with  United  Mine  Workers,  to  see  it 
pass.  "KiU  the  I.  W.  W.'s!"  "Send  them  out  of  the 
country ! "  "  Hanging  is  too  good  for  them ! ' '  "  Good 
boy,  sheriff!'*  "Nice  work,  troopers!"  shouted  the 
union  men  along  the  way. 

Two  hundred  and  sixty-one  prisoners  sat  in  the 
motley  train.  With  all  that  they  and  theirs  had  done 
in  shedding  of  blood,  with  all  that  they  had  resolved 
to  do,  they  had  surrendered,  two  hundred  and  sixty-one 
of  them,  surrendered  without  one  struggle  to  seventeen 
young  soldiers  of  the  State  who  had  not  struck  a 
blow.  And  now  they  rode  more  quietly  than  so  many 
chickens  riding  to  market,  for  the  reason  that  each 
load  of  them  moved  under  the  eye  of  a  single  Black 
Hussar. 

"I  can't  say  too  much  for  the  troopers,"  Sheriff 
Phillips  exclaimed  that  night.  "The  way  they  worked 
to-day  was  something  marvelous,  and  it  shows  the  kind 
of  men  that  are  in  the  organization.  We  are  going  to 
ask  the  head  of  the  State  Troops  to  locate  a  substation 


The  Tables  Turned  241 

in  Old  Forge  and  Peckville.  I  believe  this  is  the  real 
solution  of  the  problem." 

Lieutenant  Price  and  his  detail  had  breakfasted  at 
half  after  three  that  morning.  They  had  been  in  the 
saddle  from  that  time  until  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, at  which  hour  their  prisoners  were  safely  lodged 
in  jail.  And  in  the  interval  they  had  not  broken  fast. 

Brought  before  the  magistrates  for  examination 
every  one  of  the  prisoners  proved  to  be  of  Italian  birth 
and  only  seven  out  of  them  all  could  claim  American 
citizenship.  Charged  with  inciting  to  riot,  conspiracy, 
forcible  entry  and  disorderly  conduct,  they  were 
committed  to  jail  in  default  of  five  thousand  dollars 
bail  each,  and  the  authorities  of  Lackawanna  County, 
like  those  of  Luzerne  in  parallel  case,  applied  themselves 
forthwith  to  the  task  of  securing  the  deportation  of 
these  surely  undesirable  aliens  from  the  country. 

The  Philadelphia  North  American's  Wilkes-Barre 
correspondent,  summing  up  the  situation  and  speaking 
of  the  nightmare  life  led  by  the  harried  union  men,  said 
next  day: 

For  several  weeks  the  "American  Cossacks"  have 
been  battling  to  preserve  law  and  order  to  protect  the 
miners'  organization.  While  they  were  out  putting  down 
riot  and  disorder,  officials  of  the  mine  workers  were  travel- 
ing throughout  the  district  pleading  with  their  members 
to  remain  loyal  to  the  organization. 

"The  Cossacks"  have  been  the  men  of  the  hour  in 
Luzerne  and  Lackawanna  counties,  and  their  ability  to 
meet  all  situations  and  fight  when  a  fight  is  necessary  has 
perhaps  killed  the  I.  W.  W.  activities  in  this  region. 

The  "Cossacks"  have  proved  indeed,  and  beyond  all 
doubting,  that  they  not  only  will  fight  but  will  freely 

10 


242  Justice  to  All 

lay  down  their  lives  for  the  people's  defense  whenever 
that  sacrifice  is  asked  of  them.  But  they  cannot 
attain  ubiquity,  however  nearly  they  approach  it. 
And  the  activities  of  the  seething  underworld  are  never 
killed.  The  outlaw  element  has  but  to  burst  forth 
with  sufficient  violence  in  several  different  quarters 
of  the  State  at  once,  to  hold  the  people  of  some  of  those 
quarters  as  much  at  its  mercy  as  were  the  terrified 
United  Mine  Workers  of  Luzerne  and  Lackawanna 
until  the  " Cossacks"  came  to  their  relief.  We  may 
choose  blindness  and  the  optimisim  of  the  ostrich. 
We  may  still  shun  uncomfortable  thoughts.  But  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  shun  the  fact  in  the  day  of  its  enact- 
ment. And  the  writing  is  bright  on  the  wall. 

Pennsylvania,  richer  than  all  the  rest  of  the  Union, 
has  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  men  who  will  give 
their  lives  for  her  as  knight  crusaders  died  for  the 
Grail;  but,  however  many  they  take  with  them,  they 
must  go  down  in  the  first  rush.  Increased  to  a  rational 
strength,  their  prestige  would  so  multiply  their  power 
that  they  would  amply  shield  the  State.  But  two 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  men  cannot  hold  back  the 
sea. 

As  a  people  we  are  fond  of  emergency  measures — of 
crazy  risks,  of  disregarding  signs  and  warnings,  and  at 
last  of  breakneck  plunges  in  the  dark.  In  the  spring 
of  1916,  when,  as  already  related,  all  the  squadron  was 
occupied  with  the  woes  of  the  eastern  State,  troubles 
broke  out  in  the  west.  Then  it  was  demanded  of 
Major  Groome  that  he  detach  troops  from  the  east  for 
western  service. 

"I  cannot  do  it,"  said  he.  "It  would  be  deserting 
the  field.  It  would  be  giving  criminal  encouragement. 
It  would  be  subversive  of  public  morale." 


The  Tables  Turned  243 

"Then,"  he  was  told,  "you  must  add  to  your  Force 
to  meet  this  emergency." 
"How?" 

''Why,  hire  more  men,  of  course." 
Said  the  Superintendent  of  the  State  Police: 
"Given  the  best  of  material  and  the  hardest  of  work, 
it  takes  over  a  year  to  make  a  State  Police  officer. 
Do  you  think  I  would  trust  that  uniform  to  a  stranger, 
with  the  chance  of  his  disgracing  it?     If  you  wanted  a 
larger  State  Police  the  time  to  think  of  it  was  in  the  last 
Legislature.     Now  you  must  abide  by  your  choice." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CITIES  AND  WASTE  PLACES 

THE  "Black  Hussars"  had  now  indeed  fairly  settled 
into  place  among  the  fixed  forces  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Their  potency  was  now  reckoned  upon  in  the  handling 
of  all  manner  of  problems,  as  the  one  definite  factor  that 
never  wavered  and  never  failed. 

Scanning  through  the  years,  the  chain  is  found  not 
only  unbroken  but  welded  ever  more  stoutly  by  virtue 
of  service  continuously  performed.  To-day  a  survey  of 
the  several  State  departments  reveals,  both  in  point 
of  recorded  work  and  in  point  of  opinion  gladly  expressed 
by  departmental  heads,  a  close  and  vital  relationship 
between  the  Department  of  State  Police  and  every 
other  bureau  whose  interests  require  the  enforcement 
of  law. 

The  Economy  and  Efficiency  Commission  of  the 
Commonwealth  consists  of  the  Governor  of  the  State, 
the  Attorney-General,  and  the  Auditor-General.  This 
Commission  said  in  its  annual  report  for  1915: 

The  State  Police  .  .  .  consists  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty  men.  The  annual  pay-roll  aggregates  $234,950.00. 
Considering  the  vast  amount  of  territory  these  minions  of 
the  law  cover,  the  moral  effect  they  have  on  the  community 
in  which  they  operate,  and  the  protection  they  afford  the 
entire  State,  the  cost  in  comparison  is  infinitesimal. 

We  recommend  that  the  present  force  be  increased  by 
two  troops,  or  one  hundred  and  ten  men,  and  that  the  De- 

244 


Cities  and  Waste  Places  245 

partment  establish  substations  of  three  men  each,  twenty- 
five  miles  apart,  throughout  the  entire  State.  This 
would  provide  patrols  from  each  substation  that  would  be 
in  constant  touch  with  the  patrols  from  other  substations, 
thus  providing  a  network  of  substations  and  patrols  over 
the  entire  State  with  the  exception  of  the  larger  cities. 

The  Governor  of  the  State,  the  Honorable  Martin 
G.  Brumbaugh,  writes  under  date  of  June  14,  1916: 

It  is  the  general  judgment  of  the  people  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Pennsylvania  that  the  State  Constabulary  has 
rendered  most  valuable  and  capable  service  to  the  Commdn- 
wealth  and  its  citizens  in  safeguarding  their  lives  and  pro- 
tecting their  property.  The  officers  and  men  have  always 
carried  themselves  with  discretion  and  have  maintained  the 
very  highest  efficiency  in  the  service. 

The  Auditor-General,  the  Honorable  Archibald  W. 
Powell,  testifies:  \ 

With  regard  to  the  efficiency  of  the  State  Police  from 
the  peculiar  knowledge  of  the  Auditor-General  as  super- 
visor of  its  expenditures,  we  cannot  speak  too  highly.  So 
far  as  the  Auditor-General  personally  knows,  there  has 
never  been  a  dispute  about  any  requisition  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  Police,  either  Direct  or  Accounting.  Its 
expenditures  are  made  with  apparent  great  care,  and  its 
accounting  is  prompt  and  accurate. 

The  Attorney-General,  the  Honorable  Francis 
Shunk  Brown,  in  expressing  his  admiration  for  the  work 
of  the  State  Police,  assigns  the  rendering  of  a  detailed 
opinion  to  Deputy  Attorney-General  Horace  W.  Davis, 
to  whom,  during  the  past  year,  has  specifically  fallen 
the  immediate  conduct  of  that  part  of  the  Attorney- 
General's  work  in  which  the  State  Police  has  cooperated. 


246  Justice  to  All 

Mr.  Davis  quite  frankly  premises  that  he  finds 
difficulty,  so  great  is  his  enthusiasm  for  the  Force,  in 
putting  his  views  on  paper  and  in  confining  them  to 
little  space.  And  he  takes  for  his  first  topic  those 
bucket-shop  raids  that  attracted  wide  attention  in  the 
spring  of  1916.  Before  giving  Mr.  Davis's  words, 
however,  some  explanation  may  be  necessary. 

On  March  10,  1916,  the  Attorney -General's  office 
issued,  in  connection  with  the  announcement  of  the 
raids,  a  statement  containing  the  following : 

Early  last  year  Governor  Brumbaugh  determined  that 
Pennsylvania  would  be  cleared  of  the  bucket-shops.  To 
that  end  the  Attorney-General,  in  connection  with  the 
federal  authorities,  had  been  working  for  months  in  pre- 
paration. 

Since  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1907,  prohibiting  bucket- 
shops  in  this  State,  all  such  shops  have  affiliated,  either 
directly  or  as  correspondents,  with  the  so-called  exchange 
in  Pittsburgh,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  semblance  of 
regularity  and  legality  to  their  operation. 

This  exchange  originally  was  organized  in  1901  for 
legitimate  purposes,  but  shortly  after  the  passage  of  the 
act,  its  control  was  taken  over  for  the  purposes  it  has  since 
been  used  for.  This  is  the  exchange  with  which  bucket- 
shops  in  Ohio,  Kansas,  New  York,  and  many  other  States 
are  affiliated. 

The  Attorney-General  is  proceeding  with  a  writ  of  quo 
warranto  to  have  its  charter  annulled.  .  .  . 

In  that  the  matter  has  been  State-wide  in  its  extent,  it 
was  deemed  advisable  to  have  all  investigations  and  arrests 
under  the  control  of  the  Attorney-General's  department 
and  the  State  Police.  The  local  officials,  and  particularly 
the  district  attorneys  in  the  counties  in  which  the  raids  are 
made,  will  have  charge  of  the  prosecutions  under  direction 
of  the  Attorney-General.  The  State  will  also  cooperate 


Cities  and  Waste  Places  247 

with  the  federal  authorities  in  such  action  as  they  may 
take. 

In  accordance  with  arrangements  made  by  Mr. 
Davis,  based  on  investigations  conducted  with  the  aid  of 
the  Force,  at  exactly  twelve  o'clock,  noon,  on  Friday, 
March  loth,  bucket-shops  in  ten  different  counties  were 
raided  by  the  State  Police.  Each  raid  was  completely 
effective.  There  were  no  leakages  and  no  escapes. 

Mr.  Davis's  own  statement,  given  under  date  of 
October  18,  1916,  runs  as  follows: 

Upon  the  completion  of  our  investigation  as  to  the 
bucket-shops  being  operated  in  this  State,  I  requested 
Major  Groome  to  detail  a  sufficient  number  of  State  Police 
to  make  the  arrests  in  connection  with  the  many  points  to 
be  raided. 

Our  reasons  for  using  the  State  Police  were  many. 
Foremost  was  the  fact  that  the  bucket-shops  are  in  constant 
communication  with  each  other  by  wire,  so  that  effective 
work  required  simultaneous  action  in  all  of  the  ten  counties 
in  which  raids  were  instituted.  To  have  depended  on  the 
local  authorities  would  have  involved  not  only  a  great  deal 
of  additional  trouble  but  would  have  presented  the  pos- 
sibility of  our  plans  miscarrying  by  a  premature  raid  in  any 
one  of  the  shops. 

Another  reason  for  resorting  to  the  State  Police  was 
that  with  them  there  would  be  no  division  of  responsibility. 
A  third  reason  lay  in  the  fact  that  most  operators  of  bucket- 
shops  are  local  men,  whose  personality  is  such  as  to  attract 
many  friends  and  to  create  connections  which  might 
possibly  prove  a  matter  of  embarrassment  were  local  authori- 
ties called  in.  Whereas  the  State  Police  are  so  constituted, 
both  in  organization  and  in  personnel,  that  this  element 
could  not  exist. 

Finally,  it  was  necessary  that  we  act  with  a  strong  hand, 


248  Justice  to  All 

and  it  is  my  personal  impression  that  no  body,  local  or 
otherwise,  is  as  efficient  in  intelligently  carrying  out  orders 
as  these  officers. 

Several  days  before  March  loth,  the  date  fixed  for  the 
raid,  I  had  a  conference  with  the  two  State  Police  cap- 
tains who  were  to  have  charge  of  the  work.  At  that  time 
I  delivered  to  Captain  Weichard  of  Troop  "D,"  to  whom 
were  entrusted  the  raids  outside  of  Allegheny  County, 
copies  of  informations  to  be  sworn  to,  as  well  as  the  other 
papers  necessary  to  be  taken  out. 

The  raids  in  Allegheny  County,  which  involved  the 
Consolidated  Stock  and  Produce  Exchange  of  Pittsburgh 
and  several  other  concerns,  were  to  be  under  the  direction 
of  Captain  Adams  of  Troop  "A."  The  papers  in  connec- 
tion with  these  Allegheny  County  raids  not  being  earlier 
completed,  I  was  to  arrive  in  Pittsburgh  at  eight  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  loth  and  deliver  them  to  Captain 
Adams  personally,  the  hour  set  for  the  raids  being  twelve 
o'clock  noon. 

With  the  papers  in  my  possession,  I  left  Harrisburg  the 
night  before,  but  because  of  a  wreck  on  the  railroad  I  did 
not  arrive  in  Pittsburgh  until  one  and  one  half  hours  after 
the  raids  were  scheduled  to  take  place.  And  as  I  had  been 
unable  to  get  in  communication  with  Captain  Adams,  I  was 
fearful  lest  our  entire  plans  had  miscarried  and  that  the 
Pittsburgh  raids  had  not  been  made  for  want  of  the  proper 
warrants. 

Under  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  however,  a  place 
of  the  character  of  a  bucket-shop  may  be  raided  and  arrests 
made  without  warrants,  and  when  I  arrived  in  Pittsburgh 
I  found  that  Captain  Adams,  sensing  the  situation  as 
to  the  cause  of  my  delay,  had  proceeded  without  warrants, 
though  in  due  conformity  with  law.  Each  place  had  been 
raided  at  the  precise  moment  fixed.  The  prisoners  had 
been  brought  before  the  magistrate  by  the  officers  raiding 
each  particular  place.  And  these  several  officers  had  at  the 
same  time  seized  all  papers  and  other  evidence,  placed 


Cities  and  Waste  Places  249 

them  in  bags,  sealed  the  contents,  and  impressed  on  the 
seal  the  badge  of  the  officer  making  that  particular  raid. 

I  was  astonished  by  the  thoroughness  and  intelligence 
with  which  the  matter  was  handled. 

Upon  my  arrival  at  the  Alderman's  office  I  also  found 
reports  from  all  of  the  outlying  counties,  stating  that  every 
raid  had  been  successfully  accomplished. 

Pennsylvania  is  now  free  from  bucket-shops  and  the 
results  obtained  in  that  raid  would  have  been  impossible  by 
any  other  means  than  those  employed. 

Since  that  time  I  have  frequently  had  State  Police 
officers  detailed  on  Secret  Service  work,  and  on  no  occasion 
have  I  had  any  but  the  most  satisfactory  results. 
i  One  matter  involved  the  alleged  negligence  of  a  railroad 
company  in  permitting  its  engines  to  operate  without 
adequate  spark  arresters.  To  get  the  information  required, 
the  State  Police  officer  detailed  to  the  case  had  to  follow 
two  engines  practically  across  the  State,  and,  by  compelling 
an  examination  to  be  made,  found  that  one  of  the  engines 
was  in  the  condition  which  we  had  suspected.  This  railroad 
company  has -since  been  indicted  for  having  caused  a  very 
destructive  forest  fire. 

The  present  State  Police  organization  includes  within 
its  membership  some  splendidly  trained  Secret  Service 
men,  and  in  pursuit  of  the  duties  placed  upon  many  of  the 
Departments  of  this  State,  these  men  are  being  effectively 
used  in  various  investigations.  The  State's  activities 
involve  many  matters,  such  as  the  banking  laws,  which 
require  trained  and  capable  investigators.  This  is  properly 
a  function  of  the  State  Police,  and  their  only  reason  for 
not  fully  and  ably  discharging  that  function  is  their  lack 
of  men.  This  particular  branch  of  the  service  should 
therefore  be  enlarged,  together  with  the  body  as  a  whole,  as 
in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  a  State  of  the  size  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  need  for  Secret  Service  operators  is  as 
imperative  as  it  is  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Federal  Government. 


250  Justice  to  All 

The  idea  of  permitting  county  or  other  local  divisions 
to  supply  such  aid  through  their  police  officers  is  as  fal- 
lacious as  attempting  to  depend  on  the  independent  State 
Militia  for  furnishing  an  adequate  national  defense. 

In  the  present  organization  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Police  there  is  centralization  of  authority  with  the  con- 
sequent fixing  of  responsibility.  This  authority  permits 
these  officers  to  cooperate  with  local  officials,  and  in  that 
connection  the  number  of  local  crimes  that  are  detected 
and  their  perpetrators  brought  to  trial  by  this  body  is 
unbelievable. 

Summarizing,  I  would  say  that  my  experience  and 
observation  is  to  the  effect  that  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Police,  from  its  Superintendent  down,  is  composed  of 
honest,  energetic,  and  intelligent  men,  and  that  not  only  is 
such  an  organization  an  effective  means  for  carrying  into 
execution  the  authority  of  a  State  Government,  but,  when 
kept  out  of  politics  as  this  State  Police  has  been,  it  is  of 
highly  material  assistance  to  local  authorities  in  the 
suppression  and  detection  of  crime. 

That  local  authorities  of  the  active  type  appreciate 
the  truth  expressed  by  Mr.  Davis's  words,  was  shown  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Association  of  Police 
Chiefs,  held  at  Williamsport  on  the  2d  of  May,  1916, 
when  the  president  of  the  Association,  Chief  J.  N.  Til- 
lard  of  Altoona,  said  in  his  report: 

Apropos  to  the  tendency  of  the  time  to  hamper  the  work 
of  enforcing  law  and  order,  I  call  attention  to  the  opposition 
in  some  quarters  to  the  State  Police.  I  hold  no  brief  for 
this  splendid  organization  of  picked  men,  as  their  able 
officers  are  abundantly  qualified  to  defend  themselves,  but 
desire  to  say  a  word  as  to  the  invaluable  service  they  have 
performed  for  municipal  departments. 

It  seems  to  be  the  current  opinion  that  the  members  of 
the  body  are  utilized  in  handling  striking  workmen  or 


Cities  and  Waste  Places  251 

suppressing  riots,  but  we  municipal  policemen  happen  to 
know  that  paramount  to  any  service  of  that  kind  is  their 
work  in  bringing  criminals  to  justice.  They  patrol  the 
waste  places  between  towns  and  cities,  and  if  we  are  looking 
for  a  fugitive  who  has  taken  cover  in  the  "bushes,"  they 
are'  the  boys  who  will  locate  him.  In  sending  out  alarms 
for  fleeing  criminals,  we  flood  their  barracks  with  descrip- 
tions, knowing  full  well  that  they  will  receive  the  most 
prompt  and  intelligent  attention. 

Police  Commissioner  Arthur  Woods,  of  New  York 
City,  acknowledged  the  same  need  unsatisfied  when 
he  said: 

I  know  that  the  work  of  the  New  York  City  Police  De- 
partment would  be  helped  if  there  were  a  State  body  of 
police  covering  the  rural  part  of  the  State  with  which  we 
could  work  in  close  cooperation.  We  are  often  hampered 
now  in  the  effort  to  arrest  men  who  flee  the  city.  Unless 
they  go  to  one  of  the  cities,  so  that  we  can  cooperate  directly 
with  an  organized  police  force,  we  are  under  a  great  handi- 
cap. A  State  police  force  would  go  a  long  way  toward 
overcoming  this. 

But  even  while  New  York  City  suffers  from  the  isola- 
tion of  her  position  as  an  islet  in  the  midst  of  that  sea 
of  danger,  an  unpoliced  State,  she  nevertheless  profits 
by  her  neighborhood  to  the  superior  civilization  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Inspector  J.  A.  Faurot,  commanding  the 
Detective  Bureau  of  the  Police  Department  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  writes  under  date  of  September  28, 1916: 

I  receive  glowing  accounts  from  the  members  of  this 
Bureau  of  the  great  assistance  which  the  State  Police 
of  Pennsylvania  have  rendered  us,  and  of  the  quick  and 
thorough  work  by  which  they  show  their  desire  to  help 
this  Department. 


252  Justice  to  All 

Mr.  William  J.  Burns,  President  of  the  International 
Detective  Agency,  wrote  on  October  7,  1916: 

I  have  always  considered  the  constabulary  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  to  be  the  most  efficient,  most  useful  of  its 
kind  anywhere.  Their  work  is  invaluable.  They  have 
done  more  to  maintain  the  peace  and  uphold  the  law 
than  any  body  of  officers  I  have  ever  known.  .  .  .  Every 
State  in  the  country  ought  to  have  a  similar  organization, 
especially  the  Eastern,  New  England,  and  Middle  Western 
States. 

And  yet  there  was  actually  left  a  man  to  rise  from 
his  seat  in  the  last  Pennsylvania  Legislature  and  decry 
the  existence  of  the  State  Police  as  "a  relic  of  medieval 
days, "  while  he  bitterly  bemoaned  the  passing  of  that 
halcyon  period  previous  to  their  intrusion  when  the 
State  had  no  police,  and  when  a  police  officer  of 
one  county  who  should  presume  to  arrest  a  criminal 
in  flight  through  another  county  without  previously 
having  stopped  to  secure  a  warrant  from  the  court  of 
that  particular  county  "could  be  convicted  of  assault 
and  battery,"  as  indeed  remains  the  case  today. 

The  member  did  not  say  whether  he  had  been  re- 
tained by  the  Association  of  Automobile  Burglars  or  by 
the  Gunmen's  Union. 

The  Department  of  Health  is  unstinting  in  apprecia- 
tion. Commissioner  Dixon  himself  closes  a  detailed 
and  unqualified  testimony  to  the  great,  varied,  and 
unfailing  services  of  the  Force  through  ten  years  of 
cooperation  with  this  sweeping  phrase: 

"I  know  of  no  body  of  men  on  the  continent  that 
can  be  compared  with  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police, 
unless  it  be  the  North- Western  Mounted  Police  of 
Canada." 


Cities  and  Waste  Places  253 

Every  thinking  man  in  Pennsylvania  feels  that  the 
State  Police  should  be  enlarged  [says  a  prominent  member  of 
Dr.  Dixon's  staff].  Its  cooperation  with  this  Department 
is  of  very  great  importance,  but  the  salient  point  is  that 
the  men  are  perfectly  competent  to  cooperate  with  the  most 
complete  efficiency  with  any  State  department,  in  the 
execution  of  any  sort  of  work  in  which  that  department 
may  engage.  Major  Groome  is  of  that  rare  human  type 
that  does  cooperate.  And  his  inspiration  has  shaped  his 
entire  command. 

Not  only  in  emergencies  but  in  our  everyday  work 
we  profit  constantly  by  the  assistance  of  the  Force,  as,  for 
example,  in  guarding  streams  and  waterways  from  pollu- 
tion, and,  in  summer,  in  supervising  campers.  This  State, 
through  the  Forestry  Department,  issues  permits  to  camp 
on  State  Forestry  reservations.  When  this  is  done,  the 
Forestry  Department  notifies  the  Department  of  Health, 
which  at  once  notifies  the  State  Police.  The  latter,  then, 
either  by  the  regular  mounted  patrols,  or  by  special  patrols 
detailed  for  the  purpose,  at  one  and  the  same  time  serves  us 
in  preventing  nuisances  by  the  campers,  serves  the  Forestry 
Department  in  preventing  fires,  unlawful  cutting  of  timber, 
and  any  violation  of  Forestry  laws,  serves  the  Game  and 
Fisheries  Departments  in  looking  after  their  diverse  in- 
terests, and  serves  the  people  at  large  by  meeting  any  needs 
that  turn  up. 

This  statement  by  implication  calls  attention  to 
the  usefulness  of  the  Force  in  filling  gaps — in  doing  as  a 
matter  of  course  those  thousand  and  one  odd  jobs 
that  in  other  States  remain  forever  vexatiously  undone 
simply  because  they  are  no  department's  or  no  official's 
definite  business — because  they  chanced  to  be  left  un- 
covered by  the  charges  laid  upon  the  several  bureaus, 
or  because  they  arise  outside  the  realm  of  any  active 
official's  service.  The  duties  of  the  State's  Police 


254  Justice  to  All 

know  no  such  limits.  Its  duties  are  to  do  anything 
whatever  that  the  State's  needs  indicate.  The  realm 
of  the  State's  Police,  even  as  its  name  implies,  can 
be  co-terminous  only  with  the  State's  sovereignty. 
And,  as  the  work  of  the  State's  Police  is  wholly  im- 
personal— as  its  service  is  rendered  wholly  without 
charge  or  any  manner  of  profit  either  to  the  Force  or  to 
individual  members  thereof — as  all  fees  or  fines  that 
may  be  collected  through  its  work  go  exactly  where  they 
should  have  gone  if  collected  without  its  agency,  its 
operations,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  cannot 
arouse  the  jealousy  of  any  honest  warden,  constable, 
or  other  State  or  county  officer. 

Returning  to  the  Force's  interplay  with  the  Depart- 
ment of  Health,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  a  representative 
citation  of  instances  would  fill  a  volume — and  that  the 
volume,  moreover,  would  not  be  dull  reading.  Arrests 
of  persons  guilty  of  the  pollution  of  streams,  arrests  of 
persons  using  vacant  fields  for  the  dumping  of  offensive 
refuse,  arrests  of  persons  maintaining  nuisances,  the 
punishment  of  the  offenders  and  the  stopping  of  the 
nuisance,  will  not,  of  course,  sound  notable  to  every 
reader,  but  in  those  neutral  regions  where  no  city 
or  borough  police  operates,  and  whose  denizens  had 
fretted  helplessly  under  troubles  of  this  sort,  the  advent 
of  the  State  Police  to  their  complete  relief  was  no  small 
matter.  And  there  are  episodes  enough  of  hues  less 
drab. 

Once  upon  a  time  a  patient  came  to  a  certain  hospital 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  suffering  from  he 
knew  not  what.  "  You  have  smallpox, "  said  the  house 
surgeon.  "We  can't  take  care  of  you  here.  Report 
to  the  Health  Officer." 

A  day  or  two  later,  meeting  the  local  Health  Officer 


Cities  and  Waste  Places  255 

on  the  street,  the  surgeon  was  reminded  to  ask  after  the 
smallpox  patient.  The  smallpox  patient,  it  now  ap- 
peared, had  never  reported ;  and  the  surgeon  had  omit- 
ted to  take  the  sick  man's  name  and  address.  Therefore, 
as  the  facts  stood,  a  deadly  pest  spreader  was  at  large 
in  the  community,  to  whose  identity  no  clue  existed 
except  the  careless  doctor's  hazy  recollection  of  his 
looks. 

For  nearly  two  weeks  the  frightened  officials  hunted 
hard  for  that  man.  Then,  no  longer  daring  to  conceal 
the  fact,  they  notified  the  Department  of  Health  in 
Harrisburg,  which  instantly  notified  the  Department 
of  State  Police,  which,  again,  telephoned  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  Troop  nearest  the  town  in  question. 

On  the  same  morning  a  trooper,  appearing  at  the 
hospital,  took  from  the  surgeon  the  description  of  the 
sufferer  and  the  date  of  his  appearance.  Within 
four  hours  that  trooper  had  found  the  man. 

By  its  intelligent  and  trained  vigilance  exerted 
over  regions  otherwise  unguarded,  enforcing  the  health 
laws  everywhere,  the  effectiveness  of  the  Force  in  wiping 
out  pest-spots  in  their  incipiency  and  in  arresting  the 
spread  of  trouble  is  beyond  all  computing.  Among 
almost  daily  instances  in  point,  here  is  one  taken 
verbatim  from  the  pages  of  the  monthly  official  report 
of  the  commanding  officer  of  Troop  "A": 

On  Dec.  2Oth,  a  call  was  received  by  Sergeant  Stout 
of  the  Robertsdale  substation  from  Dr.  Black,  State  Health 
Officer,  stating  that  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  had 
broken  out  amongst  the  Italian  residents  of  Woodvale, 
Huntingdon  County;  and  that  these  people  had  absolutely 
refused  to  abide  by  the  quarantine  regulations  or  the  sani- 
tary precautions  required  by  the  Health  Department;  and 
requesting  that  patrols  be  maintained  through  the  town 


256  Justice  to  All 

to  assist  the  officers  of  the  Health  Department.  On  re- 
sponding, Sergeant  Stout  found  Woodvale  to  be  a  hamlet 
near  the  junction  of  Huntingdon,  Bedford,  and  Fulton 
counties,  and  four  miles  from  the  terminus  of  the  H.  & 
B.  T.  R.  R.,  the  inhabitants  being  Italians,  the  greater 
number  of  whom  were  unable  to  speak  or  understand  the 
English  language.  The  place  was  found  to  be  in  a  very 
unsanitary  condition,  the  only  water  being  that  which  was 
taken  from  a  hydrant  in  the  middle  of  the  street.  There  was 
no  drainage  of  any  description  and  the  cesspools  were  over- 
flowing. Patrols  visited  Woodvale  two  and  three  times 
daily  but  found  that  no  results  could  be  obtained  in  this 
manner.  It  was  then  decided  to  keep  a  man  permanently 
stationed  at  this  place. 

Dr.  Black  received  the  necessary  permission  from  the 
Department  of  State  Police. 

Private  Doddridge  was  detailed  to  perform  this  duty; 
on  his  arrival  Dr.  Black  secured  a  six-room  house  for  use 
as  a  quarantine  station.  A  private  nurse  was  employed 
to  take  charge,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  State  Police 
eight  of  the  typhoid  patients  were  placed  in  this  house. 
During  this  operation  it  was  necessary  for  the  detachment 
to  disperse  a  large  crowd  of  Italians  who  had  gathered 
about  the  house,  uttering  threats  of  violence  against  the 
doctor  and  nurse  because  of  their  belief  that  the  object 
was  to  do  away  with  the  patients. 

Under  the  strain  of  the  work  the  private  nurse  who  had 
been  employed  broke  down  and  resigned,  and  a  nurse  was 
detailed  from  the  State  Health  Department. 

This  nurse  instructed  Private  Doddridge  in  the  sanitary 
precautions  necessary  in  typhoid  cases,  it  being  necessary  for 
him  to  assist  her,  especially  when,  owing  to  their  delirium, 
the  patients  became  unruly,  refusing  to  take  medicine  or  to 
stay  in  bed;  and  to  relieve  her  while  she  secured  necessary 
rest  during  the  night.  Private  Doddridge  remained  on 
duty  at  the  quarantine  station  for  one  month,  assisting 
the  nurse  during  the  day  in  carrying  and  boiling  water, 


Cities  and  Waste  Places  257 

administering  medicine,  and  washing  bed  linen.  During 
the  night  he  made  hourly  visits  to  the  patients,  administer- 
ing medicine  and  taking  temperatures.  During  the  time 
the  quarantine  station  was  maintained  twelve  patients 
were  admitted,  two  of  whom  died.  On  these  occasions  it 
was  necessary  for  Private  Doddridge  to  protect  the  nurse 
from  violence  at  the  hands  of  the  relatives  of  the  dead  per- 
son, they  holding  her  personally  responsible  for  the  death. 
On  the  last  patient  being  discharged,  Private  Doddridge 
fumigated  the  building  and  its  contents  and  forbade  its 
being  used  for  any  purpose — this  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  the  Health  Department. 

Reading  between  the  lines  of  the  bare  statement 
and  arriving  at  the  extraordinary  picture  involved,  one 
is  driven  to  ask  how  Dr.  Black  could  have  coped  with 
that  situation — how  he  could  have  saved  his  public — 
without  the  help  of  the  trooper.  In  earlier  days  the 
incredulous  question  had  often  been  put:  "What  good 
could  two  or  three  State  Policemen  be  to  a  whole 
county?"  Answers  like  this  have  long  silenced  such 
doubts. 

It  may  be  remarked,  also,  that  the  little  Robertsdale 
substation  lay  distant  half  the  State's  width  from  the 
home  barracks,  and  that  the  allotment  of  Private 
Doddridge  to  this  task  could  therefore  involve  no 
choice  or  special  fitness.  Private  Doddridge  knew  no 
more  about  nursing  than  did  every  other  young  soldier 
on  the  Force;  he  merely  happened  to  be  the  individual 
at  hand,  of  a  body  whose  every  member  is  a  man  of 
high  ability  and  keen  intelligence,  ready  to  serve  any 
need  of  the  people. 

17 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

EVERY  MAN'S  FRIEND 

NOT  behind  the  Health  Department  in  its  esteem  of 
the  Force  is  that  closely  allied  bureau,  the  State  Live- 
stock Sanitary  Board.  Dr.  Clarence  J.  Marshall, 
State  Veterinarian,  and  for  the  last  six  years  active 
head  of  the  Board,  says: 

We  could  not  enforce  our  sanitary  laws  peacefully,  or 
in  any  degree  thoroughly  without  the  help  of  our  State 
Police.  They  are  of  inestimable  benefit  in  saving  human 
and  animal  life  from  disease,  in  detecting  centres  of  infec- 
tion, in  trailing  contagions,  and  in  thoroughly  and  quietly 
enforcing  the  Law.  My  work  has  necessarily  brought  me  in 
contact  with  many  breeders  and  livestock  men  in  the 
State.  They  would  strongly  favor  increasing  the  Force. 
I  cannot  commend  it  too  highly,  and  I  believe  that  this  is 
the  honest  opinion  of  all  native-born,  law-abiding  citizens 
of  the  State.  All  farmers  regard  it  as  their  best  friend. 

In  sections  where  aliens  and  Socialists  predominate  we 
can  do  absolutely  nothing  effective  without  support  from 
the  Force.  In  cases  of  malignant  contagion  fatal  to  man 
and  beast,  we  can  get  no  truth,  cooperation,  or  obedience 
out  of  this  class.  They  have  no  respect  for  the  Law  itself. 
They  must  see  the  evidence  of  power.  Otherwise  there  is 
defiance,  bloodshed,  waste  of  priceless  time  during  which 
disease  is  spread  beyond  all  stopping,  and  in  the  end  only 
partial  enforcement  at  best. 

These  people  have  an  open  contempt  for  the  interests 
of  the  farmers  and  of  our  country  people  in  general;  they 
laugh  at  the  agricultural  element,  holding  that  the  only 

258 


Every  Man's  Friend  259 

interest  of  moment  is  the  sort  of  question  that  is  involved  in 
their  own  "strikes."  But  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the 
State  Police,  which  again  and  again,  in  instances  that  I 
could  easily  detail,  has  saved  our  farmers  from  the  imposi- 
tion of  terrible  scourges  of  cattle  disease,  has  thereby  ren- 
dered to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  service  far  outweighing 
the  issues  involved  in  strikes. 

Passing  over  large  examples,  like  that  of  the  saving 
of  the  State,  in  1914,  from  a  wholesale  introduction  of  the 
foot-and-mouth  disease  from  the  West,  I  will  cite  a  small  and 
common  instance,  as  exemplifying  the  advantages  that  this 
Bureau  daily  derives  from  the  cooperation  of  the  State 
Police: 

During  the  month  of  December,  1914,  Dr.  C.  V.  Lutz, 
a  veterinarian  of  Fayette  City,  reported  that  a  Mr.  R.  A. 
Layman  had  died  at  the  McKeesport  Hospital  of  glanders. 
At  the  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  Layman  kept  a  livery  stable 
at  Smithtown,  Pennsylvania.  The  occurrence  in  such 
public  premises  of  a  disease  so  virulent  was  of  course  of  the 
gravest  danger  to  the  community  at  large.  Sent  at  once  to 
the  spot,  our  agents  found  nine  horses  in  the  Layman  barn, 
of  which  two  already  showed  physical  symptoms  of  the 
contagion.  These  were  appraised  and  destroyed.  Of  the 
remaining  seven,  the  test  of  ophthalmic  mallein  revealed 
that  five  were  affected.  We  then  found  that  at  least  thirty 
horses  from  the  outside  country  had  been  stabled,  fed,  and 
watered  on  the  Layman  premises  during  the  existence  of 
glanders  there. 

And  at  that  point  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  who 
could  have  given  our  agent  reliable  information  absolutely 
refused  to  talk.  They  naturally  shrank  from  incurring  the 
ill-will  of  the  owners  of  the  endangered  animals,  and  even 
the  dread  of  a  general  epidemic  did  not  open  their  lips.  We 
could  get  not  one  inch  farther.  The  problem  transcended 
our  powers.  Moreover,  other  stables  that  we  considered 
it  necessary  to  quarantine  persistently  evaded  our  orders. 

I  then  asked  for  the  never-failing  help  of  the  State  Police. 


260  Justice  to  All 

Captain  Adams  of  Troop  "A"  assigned  two  of  his  men, 
one  in  uniform,  the  other  to  do  plain-clothes  work,  to  en- 
force the  quarantine  and  to  locate  the  animals.  The  latter, 
particularly,  was  no  small  task;  the  horses,  as  it  proved, 
were  scattered  all  over  the  section,  many  of  them  far 
outside  the  county  and  in  various  directions.  But  in  less 
than  a  week  every  one  of  those  horses  had  been  traced  and 
found.  It  would  certainly  have  been  impossible  to  accom- 
plish this  work  but- for  the  assistance  of  the  State  Police. 
And  if  the  horses  had  not  been  located,  half  the  stock  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  might  have  died  of  glanders. 

One  of  the  great  strengths  of  the  State  Police  is  the 
absolute  respect  that  all  classes  have  for  them.  The 
people  all  know  that  they  never  use  force  unless  compelled 
to  do  so,  and  that  then  they  never  flinch.  This  knowledge 
prevents  even  the  beginnings  of  disobedience  where  the 
State  Police  are  concerned.  Then,  again,  they  are  abso- 
lutely impartial  and  without  respect  of  persons  in  doing 
their  work. 

Of  that  I  may  cite  a  rather  amusing  instance.  We 
used  always  to  have  much  rowdyism  and  many  rows  and 
fights  at  our  county  fairs.  Now,  we  ask  for  a  pair  of  State 
Policemen  on  such  occasions,  and  all  disorder  is  a  thing 
of  the  past.  At  the  Bradford  County  Fair,  not  long  since, 
this  characteristic  incident  occurred :  The  Fair  Association 
had  made  a  ruling  that  no  person  should  cross  the  Fair 
Ground  track.  Early  on  the  first  day  of  the  Fair,  the 
President  of  the  Association,  in  a  hurry  to  get  about,  started 
to  cross  the  ring.  Instantly  his  way  was  barred  by  one  of 
the  two  State  Policemen.  The  official  was  outraged. 
' '  Do  you  know  who  I  am  ? ' '  roared  he.  "I  am  the  President 
of  the  Association!" 

"In  that  case,"  replied  the  trooper,  very  politely, 
"you  are  in  a  position  to  have  the  Association  change  any 
rules  that  you  may  not  like.  Meantime  it  is  my  duty  to 
enforce  every  one  of  them." 

The  President  was  hot  over  it,  but  soon  cooled  down 


Every  Man's  Friend  261 

and  saw  the  humor  of  the  situation.  And  the  circumstance, 
occurring  as  it  did  in  the  presence  of  a  great  crowd,  was  of 
most  wholesome  effect. 

Turning  to  a  companion  interest,  that  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania S.  P.  C.  A.,  we  find  the  operative  manager,  Mr. 
Frank  B.  Rutherford,  who  is  also  president  of  the 
Federated  Humane  Societies  of  Pennsylvania,  thus 
forcibly  expressing  his  view: 

I  beg  to  state  that  the  value  of  the  State  Police  cannot 
be  adequately  measured  in  words.  As  a  whole  they  are 
lovers  of  animals,  and  materially  assist  the  S.  P.  C.  A.  in 
preventing  cruelty  to  the  dumb  creation.  Especially  in  the 
interior  counties  they  are  of  the  utmost  service  to  our 
officers,  enabling  them  to  secure  obedience  to  the  law  where 
otherwise  the  task  would  be  hopeless.  In  stopping  cock- 
fights, dog-fights,  badger-fights,  and  in  raiding  for  any  of 
our  purposes,  they  are  our  best  weapon ;  and  in  daily  sorely 
needed  enforcement  of  the  laws  against  cruelty  to  animals 
in  otherwise  unpoliced  places  and  on  the  country  roads  at 
large,  their  vigilant  patrols  are  the  only  real  agency  that 
exists. 

The  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  Mr.  N.  R.  Buller, 
has  held  that  office  for  five  years,  and  has  been  engaged 
since  1871  in  the  State's  work  of  fish  culture. 

Mr.  Buller,  in  his  several  annual  reports,  makes  it 
clear  that  he  considers  the  work  of  the  Department  of 
Fisheries  to  be  twofold — the  propagation  of  fish  and  the 
education  of  the  citizens  of  the  State  concerning  fish 
propagation.  The  former  he  holds  to  be  wholly  depend- 
ent on  the  latter,  the  two  together  completing  a  sphere 
of  proper  activity.  When  the  task  of  enforcing  the 
fish  laws  is  laid  upon  the  Department  of  Fisheries,  that 


262  Justice  to  All 

Department's  two  real  objects  are  thereby  hampered 
or  defeated. 

As  long  as  the  people  at  large  remain  unenlightened 
as  to  the  economic  intelligence  of  the  fish  laws,  they  will 
continue  not  only  to  evade  them  but  to  regard  with 
resentment  and  hatred  officers  sent  among  them  to 
enforce  what  they  consider  impudent,  tyrannical,  and 
silly  regulations.  Those  who  instruct  the  people,  and 
those  who  enforce  the  laws,  should  therefore  come  from 
distinctly  separate  sources  if  good  and  speedy  results 
are  to  be  accomplished.  The  people  must  be  taught; 
but  unless,  while  that  process  is  going  forward,  active 
officers  are  enforcing  the  laws,  the  waters  of  the  State 
will  be  denuded. 

Who,  then,  shall  enforce  the  laws?  Constables, 
Mr.  Buller  finds,  are  absolutely  useless.  "Charged 
with  the  duty  of  enforcing  the  fish  laws  [they]  are 
required  to  report  all  cases  to  court,  yet  not  one  con- 
stable in  a  thousand  .  .  .  will  do  so  to-day.  He  looks 
to  neighbors  for  votes,  and  in  many  cases  is  also  a 
violator."  Despite  the  law  commanding  sheriffs, 
deputy  sheriffs,  constables,  special  officers,  and  other 
peace  officers,  on  pain  of  fine  or  imprisonment,  to 
proceed  with  force  to  destroy  illegal  fishing  devices 
used  within  their  jurisdiction,  upon  written  notification 
by  the  Commissioner,  Mr.  Buller  is  able  to  point  to 
wide-spread,  brazen,  and  wholesale  violations  of  this 
law,  and  knows  of  no  single  instance,  anywhere,  in 
which  county  officers  have  therein  fulfilled  their  duty. 

Commissioner  Buller,  however,  has  his  resource. 
The  State  Police,  he  records  with  enthusiasm,  although 
frequently  called,  have  never  once  failed  him.  When 
special  need  has  risen  to  control  illegal  fishing  in  given 
sections,  Major  Groome  has,  says  Mr.  Buller, 


Every  Man's  Friend  263 

responded  most  heartily  and  furnished  a  number  of  details 
.  .  .  and  the  results  attained  merely  went  to  prove  how 
efficient  a  force  Pennsylvania  has  in  the  State  Police.  In 
every  instance  where  they  appeared  in  a  neighborhood 
they  gathered  in  some  violators  of  the  law  and  by  the 
swiftness  of  their  action  and  the  celerity  of  their  movements 
they  brought  about  such  a  feeling  among  would-be  violators 
that  for  the  time  being,  at  least,  no  farther  complaints  were 
heard  from  those  sections. 

Mr.  Buller  testifies  that  his  own  wardens  have  done 
good  work,  but  says  that  except  where  they  catch  law- 
breakers red-handed  it  is  next  to  impossible  for  them 
to  secure  convictions. 

The  scent  grows  cold  in  two  or  three  days  [he  explains], 
and  neighbors  are  loath  to  testify  against  neighbors,  or 
are  deterred  by  fear  that  the  violator  of  the  law  will  take 
his  revenge  by  burning  their  buildings.  In  scarcely  a 
dynamite  case  has  the  Department  been  able  to  secure 
conviction  on  information.  So  far  as  prosecutions  of  the 
pollution  cases  go,  prosecutions  on  information  fail  abso- 
lutely, because  the  witnesses  have  not  sufficient  technical 
information  or  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  to  furnish 
exact  evidence,  which  the  court  requires. 

As  for  the  flagrant  offense  of  using  wing-walls  and 
nets,  no  arrests  have  been  effected  save  through  the 
State  Police,  but  here  again  these  have  proved  of  sure 
effectiveness. 

The  outcome  of  all  this  is  sufficiently  striking  for 
those  who  hold  that  no  clean  thing  can  come  out  of 
Harrisburg.  The  outcome  is,  the  spectacle  of  a  Com- 
missioner whose  zeal  and  ability  challenge  question, 
trying  his  level  best  to  strip  himself  of  his  own  patron- 
age! Commissioner  Buller  desires  that  all  his  wardens 


264  Justice  to  All 

save  four,  for  whom  he  conceives  a  special  use,  be  taken 
from  him,  and  that  an  equivalent  number  of  officers 
be  added  to  the  State  Police  Force.  Not  only,  says  he, 
would  the  range  of  the  State  Police  be  increased  thereby, 
but,  from  its  larger  membership,  it  could  the  more 
surely  select  for  specific  errands  officers  whose  faces 
would  be  strange  to  the  people  among  whom  they 
operate. 

The  Department  of  Police  is  organized  for  the  detection 
of  criminals  and  their  arrest  and  conviction.  Every 
man  is  thoroughly  trained  .  .  .  before  he  is  put  to  work, 
and  this  Police  Force  is  now  acknowledged  everywhere  to 
be  the  most  efficient  body  in  this  country  [urges  the  Com- 
missioner]. If  the  enforcement  of  the  fish  laws  were  given 
to  this  Department  and  they  had  the  added  force  of  men 
now  authorized  for  the  Department  of  Fisheries,  the  State 
could  be  more  efficiently  patrolled,  and  in  case  of  necessity 
as  many  men  could  be  concentrated  at  a  given  point  as 
would  be  required  to  do  the  work.  With  the  knowledge 
that  the  State  Police  were  constantly  looking  after  violators 
of  the  fish  laws,  our  Department  is  thoroughly  convinced 
that  violators  would  be  very  scarce. 

There  is  no  question  that  if  the  warden  service  were 
detached  from  the  Department  of  Fisheries  there  would  be 
less  friction  between  this  Department  and  the  public  and 
better  feeling  could  then  be  created.  The  Department 
could  then  devote  all  its  energies  ...  to  the  propagation 
of  fish  and  to  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  of  fish  and 
their  habitats  among  the  people. 

For  the  State  Highway  Department  the  testimony 
of  its  head,  Commissioner  Robert  J.  Cunningham,  is 
as  follows: 

We  have  been  compelled  to  call  upon  the  State  Con- 
stabulary for  assistance  many  times  .  .  .  and  we  have  had 


Every  Man's  Friend  265 

the  most  efficient  assistance  possible.  We  have  found  the 
Constabulary  thorough  in  all  their  work,  and  that  politics 
and  factionalism  never  enter  into  it.  My  personal  opinion 
is  that  Pennsylvania  should  be  proud  of  its  State  Consta- 
bulary. 

The  ways  in  which  this  assistance  is  rendered  are 
very  varied.  At  need  the  Force  protects  the  Depart- 
ment's supervisors  and  men  in  the  performance  of 
necessary  work  in  remoter  places  where  interference  or 
hostility  is  encountered.  It  is  called  upon  to  keep 
traffic  off  important  pieces  of  freshly  constructed  roads 
that  cannot  yet  support  travel  without  injury.  It  is 
continually  useful  in  reporting  weakened  bridges, 
dangerous  holes,  or  accidental  obstructions  discovered 
by  the  patrols.  It  is  always  on  the  watch  for  that 
frequent  source  of  disaster — horse  vehicles  traveling 
at  night  without  lanterns. 

With  the  great  increase  of  automobile  traffic,  all 
conditions  involved  in  the  Highway  Department's 
work  have  become  more  difficult,  just  as  all  highway 
laws  have  become  at  once  more  important  and  harder 
to  enforce.  And  the  Highway  Department  itself  has 
no  means  of  collecting  evidence  or  of  prosecuting  offenders. 
Early  in  September,  1915,  Commissioner  Cunningham 
conferred  with  Major  Groome  regarding  the  possibility 
of  a  special  crusade  to  recall  the  existence  of  highway 
ordinances  to  certain  classes  of  citizens  who  seemed 
to  have  forgotten  it.  At  that  moment  all  troopers  who 
could  be  spared  from  imperative  work  elsewhere  were 
on  duty  at  county  fairs,  Old  Home  Weeks  and  camp 
meetings,  but  Major  Groome  readily  promised  the  full 
cooperation  of  his  men  as  soon  as  such  stress  should 
be  over. 


266  Justice  to  All 

Early  in  October,  therefore,  an  article  appeared  in 
all  the  county  papers  to  this  effect: 

Hearty  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  State  Police 
Department  has  met  the  request  of  State  Highway  Commis- 
sioner Cunningham  that  the  State  Police  aid  in  breaking 
up  the  frequent  violations  of  the  automobile  act. 

In  a  statement  from  the  Highway  Department  it  is 
said  that  the  State  Police  have  heartily  taken  up  the  matter 
and  have  already  caused  the  arrest  of  numerous  violators. 

"The  most  persistent  violators,"  says  the  statement, 
"have  been  those  who  have  been  operating  their  auto- 
mobiles on  the  public  highways  recklessly  or  while  intoxi- 
cated, and  those  who  have  operated  with  only  one  license 
tag  or  with  license  tags  improperly  displayed  or  with  coun- 
terfeit and  fraudulent  license  tags. 

"In  these  cases  the  State  Police  are  arresting  without 
warning  and  will  prosecute  to  the  fullest  extent  of  the  law. 

"The  State  Police  have  also  been  instructed  to  keep 
off  of  the  highways  any  vehicle  or  instrument  which  would 
tend  to  destroy  or  damage  them,  and  while  this  brings  up 
a  phase  of  the  traction  engine  law,  Superintendent  Groome 
is  confident  that  his  men  will  have  the  necessary  forbearance 
with  those  who  use  the  highways  without  abusing  them. 
Where  the  persistent  and  continuous  use  of  a  vehicle  dam- 
ages the  highways,  the  offender  will  first  be  warned  to 
mitigate  the  nuisance,  and  then  they  will  proceed  against 
him  if  he  neglects  to  do  so." 

In  every  quarter  of  the  State,  echoes  now  arose  from 
the  county  papers.  Says  the  Harrisburg  Independent: 

Major  Groome  has  sent  instructions  to  the  Captain 
of  each  troop.  Commissioner  Cunningham  feels  that  with 
this  powerful  assistance  it  will  be  possible  to  compel  obedi- 
ence to  the  law  on  the  part  of  automobilists  who  at  present 
are  violating  its  terms  with  impunity. 


Every  Man's  Friend  267 

The  Middletown  Journal  exults: 

The  State  Police,  it  is  well  known,  know  neither  friend 
nor  foe  in  enforcing  the  laws  and  making  arrests  .  .  .  and 
will  always  be  on  the  lookout. 

The  Towanda  Review  observes  with  peculiar  joy  that 
twelve  owners  were  arrested  by  the  State  Police  in  one 
day,  near  Scranton,  the  majority  of  them  for  running 
cars  on  licenses  belonging  to  other  machines,  and  the 
list  including  several  merchants,  with  one  prominent 
banker. 

The  Uniontown  Herald  sees  the  same  phenomenon 
presented  under  its  own  eyes,  and  adds: 

Cars  running  at  night  without  tail-lights  have  been 
the  cause  of  embarrassment  to  more  than  one  owner,  and 
the  troopers  have  notified  many  to  clean  their  license 
plates  so  their  numbers  may  be  read  at  a  distance. 

The  Wilkes-Barre  Evening  News  speaks  at  length 
and  wisely: 

Auto  speeding  on  the  rural  highways  is  as  dangerous 
...  to  the  safety  of  the  public  as  speeding  in  city  streets. 
The  once  deserted  country  road  .  .  .  has  become  converted 
into  a  popular  thoroughfare  for  the  automobile  tourist. 
The  majority  of  the  most  disastrous  automobile  accidents 
occur  in  the  rural  sections. 

The  average  tourist,  it  finds,  pays  scant  attention 
to  any  road  law,  once  he  reaches  open  country,  and  the 
results  of  his  careless  inhumanity  grow  more  flagrant 
daily. 

But  the  assignment  of  the  State  Police  to  the  duties 
of  "speed  cops,"  along  with  their  multitude  of  other  patrol 


268  Justice  to  All 

duties,  may  awaken  the  motorists  to  greater  caution  when 
touring  the  rural  sections.  If  they  doubt  the  efficiency  of 
the  State  Police,  they  will  do  well  to  test  them  by  defiance. 
The  functions  of  the  Constabulary  are  principally  rural,  and 
their  patrols  include  the  most  remote  sections  of  the  country 
within  their  jurisdiction.  The  motorist  can  no  longer 
afford  to  take  chances  unless  he  is  utterly  indifferent  to  the 
consequences.  The  general  public  will  feel  much  relieved, 
as  the  speed  maniac  is  a  menace  to  society  wherever  he 
is  encountered. 

Some  devoted  infringers  of  the  law  did  see  fit  to 
test  the  State  Police  by  defiance,  as  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  in  that  one  month  of  October,  1915,  "B" 
Troop  alone  made  ninety-nine  arrests  for  violation  of 
automobile  laws,  practically  all  of  which  resulted  in 
convictions. 

Nowhere,  however,  at  any  time  was  there  complaint 
of  an  oppressive  insistence  on  the  letter  of  the  law  where 
the  letter  meant  needless  hardship  or  restriction.  The 
patrols  were  expected,  as  ever,  to  use  sound  common 
sense,  and  to  apply  the  law  according  to  its  spirit  and 
purpose,  for  the  equal  benefit  of  all  who  "used  the 
highways  without  abusing  them." 

This  expectation  they  have  always  fulfilled.  They 
have  never  checked  the  harmless  pleasure  of  anyone. 
To  the  truth  of  the  statement  no  better  evidence  could 
be  adduced  than  that  offered  by  Mr.  S.  Boyer  Davis, 
secretary,  treasurer,  and  counsel  of  the  Automobile 
Club  of  Philadelphia.  Himself  an  automobilist,  and 
personally  representing  every  aspect  of  the  club's 
interests,  he  says: 

I  heartily  believe  in  a  State  Police  such  as  we  have 
in  Pennsylvania.  In  relation  to  motorists,  I  believe  the 


Every  Man's  Friend  269 

State  Police,  by  reason  of  their  activity,  are  a  source  of 
protection  in  preventing  holdups  on  lonely  roads,  in  patrol- 
ling the  highways,  in  apprehending  criminals  after  the 
perpetration  of  crimes;  also  in  recovering  stolen  cars.  I 
therefore  sincerely  hope  that  the  favorable  experience  of 
Pennsylvania  with  a  State  Constabulary  will  lead  to  the 
adoption  of  the  system  in  all  the  other  States  of  the  Union. 

The  operations  of  automobile  thieves,  always  dili- 
gent, had  been  steadily  increasing  in  system  and  in 
scope.  The  Force  now  discovered  in  an  eastern  county 
a  regular  depot  for  cars  stolen  by  a  certain  gang  operat- 
ing in  the  State  of  New  York  and  by  this  gang  run  over 
into  Pennsylvania  for  disguise  and  sale.  This  and 
other  similar  instances,  as  well  as  the  general  spread 
of  car  thefts  by  individual  enterprise,  led  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  Police  to  issue  on  January  16,  1915, 
the  following  notice: 

AUTOMOBILE  THIEVES 

The  operations  of  organized  bands  of  automobile  thieves 
throughout  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  have  become  so 
extensive  that  it  is  necessary  to  bring  the  attention  of 
automobile  owners  to  the  importance  of  immediately  notify- 
ing the  State  Police  upon  the  loss  of  a  car. 

This  information  should  be  transmitted  by  Telephone 
or  Telegraph  to  the  Department  of  State  Police,  Harrisburg, 
Penna.,  or  to  the  Commanding  Officer  of  any  of  the  four 
Troops. 

.  .  .  When  giving  the  information  the  State  Police 
should  be  notified : 

When  and  where  the  car  was  lost, 

Name  of  Owner, 

License  Number, 

Manufacturer's  Model, 


270  Justice  to  All 

Year  of  Model, 

Color  of  Car, 

Style  of  Car, 

and  any  further  information  that  might  be  of  use  in  making 
search  for  the  lost  car. 

Prompt  and  intelligent  cooperation  on  the  part  of  auto- 
mobile owners  will  result  in  the  recovery  of  stolen  cars 
and  the  prevention  of  such  crimes  in  the  future.  .  .  . 

Speedy  notice  of  the  commission  of  crime  is  so  abiding 
an  essential  to  the  best  police  results  that  it  is  scarcely 
exact  to  call  it  of  special  moment  in  cases  of  automobile 
thefts.  Yet  a  stolen  car  can  very  quickly  be  whirled 
beyond  the  confines  of  a  State  and  the  best  time  to 
stop  it  is  at  least  before  it  has  accomplished  that  transit. 
The  moment  that  a  telephone  message  reaches  Troop 
barracks  to  the  effect  that  a  given  car  is  missing,  all 
the  facts  in  the  case,  without  an  instant's  loss  of  time, 
are  communicated  to  every  officer  and  telephoned  to 
every  substation.  By  a  system  later  to  be  described, 
each  substation  immediately  notifies  every  trooper 
out  on  patrol.  Through  this  means,  within  less  than 
half  an  hour  from  the  moment  that  the  loss  of  the  car 
is  originally  communicated  to  the  Force,  some  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  men  all  over  the  State,  on 
highways  and  byways,  are  fully  informed  of  it.  What- 
ever these  men's  special  concern  may  be  or  in  whatever 
very  different  duty  they  may  be  primarily  engaged, 
each  one  of  them  has  also  in  his  mind,  from  now  on, 
the  picture  of  that  particular  car.  Once  his  eyes  rest 
upon  it,  it  will  not  escape  him.  Experience  has  shown 
that  the  stolen  car  whose  loss  is  promptly  reported  is 
practically  sure  to  be  picked  up  somewhere  by  one 
of  the  Force,  within  twenty-four  hours'  time. 


Every  Man's  Friend  271 

The  daily  official  reports  of  the  four  Troops  show  a 
large  amount  of  this  sort  of  service,  in  shapes  as  varied 
as  the  skill  of  the  thieves  can  occasion.  The  following 
entry,  taken  from  "A"  Troop's  last  annual  report, 
shows  a  fair  ordinary  instance : 

October  28,  1915.  At  11.15  A.M.,  this  date,  a  call  was 
received  from  E.  C.  Thompson  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  stating 
that  a  car  had  been  stolen  from  his  garage.  A  description 
of  the  automobile  was  taken.  At  about  12.10  P.M.  Sergeant 
Price  noticed  a  car  answering  this  description,  standing  on 
Main  Street,  Greensburg,  Pa.,  and  upon  investigation  found 
it  to  be  the  auto  in  question.  Being  in  uniform,  he  detailed 
Corporal  Moore  and  Private  Hershey,  who  were  in  plain 
clothes,  to  watch  the  machine.  At  about  12:30  P.M., 
two  men  entered  the  car  and  were  placed  under  arrest  by 
Corporal  Moore  and  Private  Hershey.  On  being  ques- 
tioned they  gave  their  names  as  O.  W.  Cobb  and  [ ]. 

Mr.  Thompson  of  Pittsburgh  was  notified  and  he,  in  com- 
pany with  Captain  Marshall  of  the  Pittsburgh  police,  came 
to  Greensburg  and  claimed  the  car.  It  was  learned  from 
them  that  the  car  was  not  stolen  but  that  Mr.  Cobb  secured 
the  same  by  purchase,  giving  in  payment  a  bogus  check. 
Both  men  were  turned  over  to  Captain  Marshall  and  taken 
to  Pittsburgh,  where  they  were  tried  before  the  November 
term  of  court,  Cobb  being  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
serve  two  and  one  half  years  in  the  Allegheny  County  Jail. 
The  other  man  was  discharged. 

Highway  or  byway,  no  one  who  has  watched  the 
State  Police  at  work  can  have  failed  to  remark  their 
steady  good  humor  and  the  cheerful  turn  that  they  give 
to  everything  they  do.  There  is  a  way  of  striking 
a  blow  that  wins  the  point  and  leaves  no  sting  behind. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  churlish  huckster. 
And  the  huckster  was  driving  his  cart  slowly  down  a 


272  Justice  to  All 

country  lane,  meandering  from  side  to  side  without  sense 
or  regularity,  so  that  no  one  could  pass  him  from  behind 
except  at  the  risk  of  lives  and  goods. 

While  this  man  was  so  engaged,  up  on  his  rear  came 
rushing  an  automobile  carrying  State  Policemen  on  an 
errand  of  haste.  The  Policemen  blew  their  horn — 
blew  it  again  and  again,  very  long  and  loud,  close  at 
the  huckster's  tailboard.  But  the  churlish  huckster 
feigned  deafness  and  continued  to  move  as  nearly  as 
might  be  in  all  directions  at  once. 

So  the  State  Policemen,  having  no  time  just  then  to 
deal  with  the  matter,  crowded  their  car  down  into  the 
gutter,  and  edged  past  as  best  they  could.  As  they 
rounded  up  on  the  level  again,  one  of  them,  leaning 
from  under  the  hood,  peered  solicitously  into  the  huck- 
ster's face,  inquiring  in  tones  of  unprejudiced  interest: 

"You  take  your  half  of  the  road  out  of  the  middle, 
do  you?" 

At  the  glimpse  of  the  uniform  the  huckster's  jaw  had 
dropped  its  full  length.  But  a  half  hour  later,  when  he 
recovered,  he  would  smile.  And  the  next  time  he 
heard  a  Klaxton  at  his  tailboard  he  would  take  good 
care  to  cut  the  halves  even. 

The  Wilkes-Barre  mob  that  filled  the  town  square  on 
the  night  of  September  n,  1916,  menacing  lives  and 
property  and  defying  the  half-hearted  city  police,  was 
fulfilling  its  steady  practice  of  the  past  year  by  howling 
the  most  unclean  invectives  that  primitive  minds 
could  emit  when  the  little  detail  of  State  troopers 
trotted  into  the  scene. 

"Move  on,  please.  Move  on,  please,"  urged  the 
officers,  calmly. 

Most  of  the  mob  did  move  on,  and  with  exceeding 
speed.  But  one  man,  establishing  himself  firmly  with 


Every  Man's  Friend  273 

his  legs  wide  apart,  offered  the  original  observation 
that  an  American  citizen  could  stand  where  he  pleased. 
The  trooper  addressed  replied  in  tones  of  grieved  sur- 
prise: 

"Do  I  have  to  talk  Wilkes-Barre  to  you?" 

Without  more  ado  the  *' citizen"  took  to  his  heels. 

One  day  in  the  preceding  June,  before  the  I.  W.  W- 
villainies  had  gained  full  headway  and  while  yet  the  car 
strike  was  the  chief  local  concern,  an  outsider  walking 
the  streets  of  a  disaffected  suburb  of  Wilkes-Barre  in 
company  with  a  State  trooper  expressed  astonishment 
at  the  uniform  friendly  greeting  that  the  officer  received 
from  every  laborer  that  he  met. 

"Why,  yes,  of  course,"  said  Sergeant  Chambers, 
scarred  veteran  of  many  a  battle  on  sea  and  land.  "I'm 
every  man's  friend  till  I  have  to  check  him." 

"And  after  that?" 

"Oh,  bygones  are  bygones." 

18 


CHAPTER  XIX 

PLOWSHARE  AND  SWORD 

REVERTING  to  the  survey  of  the  Departments,  and 
turning  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  we  find  the 
Honorable  Charles  E.  Patton,  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
speaking  in  no  mincing  terms : 

I  wish  to  say  that  I  consider  our  State  Police  the  best 
institution  that  we  have  in  the  State.  Opposition  to  it 
no  longer  exists  except  among  the  disorderly  element  that  is 
interested  in  making  trouble.  Every  fanner,  every  law- 
abiding  citizen,  knows  they  are  his  best  protection  and  is 
proud  that  they  exist.  No  instrumentality  can  be  of 
greater  benefit  to  any  State,  and  to  the  people,  especially 
the  rural  people,  living  within  its  borders. 

The  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  advisory  to  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  comprising  representa- 
tives elected  by  the  agricultural  societies  of  every  county, 
at  its  annual  meeting  for  1915  passed  a  strong  resolution 
requesting  the  Legislature  not  only  to  increase  the 
State  Police  Force  but  also  to  increase  the  appropriation 
for  its  work,  in  order  "to  provide  more  adequate  pro- 
tection for  life  and  property  in  rural  sections." 

The  resolution  continued: 

We  respectfully  urge  the  legislative  committee  to  be 
appointed  at  this  session  to  aid  in  any  proper  way  possible 
the  passage  of  any  such  measure  that  may  emanate  from 
the  police  department  and  in  case  no  such  measure  shall  be 

274 


Plowshare  and  Sword  275 

officially  presented  to  have  a  proper  bill  framed  and  if 
possible  secure  its  passage. 

Resolutions  such  as  these  are  commonly  passed  only 
in  legislative  years,  and  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature 
convenes  biennially.  The  winter  of  1916,  therefore, 
was  an  off  period  for  action  of  this  nature.  During 
this  season,  however,  a  statement  was  circulated  by 
the  element  opposed  to  the  Force  to  the  effect  that 
the  farmers  of  Pennsylvania  were  not  benefited  by  the 
State  Police  and  had  now  withdrawn  from  it  their 
support  and  favor.  This  allegation  being  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  officers  of  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  at  the  Board's  last  annual  meeting  in 
Harrisburg,  they  determined  on  the  extraordinary 
step  of  offering  a  resolution  in  a  non-legislative  year, 
to  underscore  their  rejection  of  the  falsehood.  They 
therefore  presented  a  detailed  statement  as  follows: 

Whereas,  we,  the  members  of  the  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture of  Pennsylvania,  feel  that  the  work  of  our  State  Police 
has  been  of  incalculable  benefit  and  help  to  the  people  of 
our  State,  especially  in  the  rural  districts  where  of  necessity 
our  homes  are  exposed  to  trespass  and  to  other  lawless  acts, 
and  where  they  have  given  us  protection  and  assistance  in 
time  of  need:  and 

Whereas,  the  great  work  they  have  done  in  preserving 
the  natural  resources  of  our  State,  such  as  the  forests  and 
game,  and  in  enforcing  the  laws  affording  protection  to 
our  workers,  our  industries  and  commercial  interests;  and 
their  skill  and  service  in  times  of  misfortune,  floods,  fire, 
and  pestilence,  in  the  control  of  which  they  have  coop- 
erated with  the  local  and  State  officials,  have  been  of 
untold  value; 


276  Justice  to  All 

Be  it  Resolved, 

That  we  urge  the  continuance  of  the  State  Police  in  their 
present  form;  and  that  their  membership  be  increased,  as 
the  needs  of  the  State  require. 

Offered  on  January  27,  1916,  the  resolution  was 
passed  unanimously. 

The  State  Horticultural  Association,  the  Fruit 
Growers,  the  County  Agricultural  Societies,  the  local 
Granges,  every  sort  of  body,  in  short,  whose  interest 
lies  in  the  rural  peace  of  the  fields,  continued  to  multiply 
such  voices. 

The  centre  of  scientific  agriculture  in  the  Common- 
wealth, from  which  emanates  through  a  very  large 
student  body  a  broad  and  important  influence,  is  the 
Pennsylvania  State  College.  The  president  of  that 
institution,  Dr.  Edwin  E.  Sparks,  closes  a  warm  tribute 
to  the  general  value  of  the  State  Police  in  the  following 
specific  terms: 

The  Pennsylvania  State  College  is  located  in  the  country, 
with  no  police  protection  from  a  city.  One  of  the  posts 
of  the  State  Constabulary  is  located  only  three  miles  from 
the  college,  and  we  frequently  call  upon  the  troopers  for 
service.  .  .  .  The  troopers  render  us  splendid  service  in 
giving  general  protection.  The  men  are  well-disciplined, 
well-mannered,  and  in  fact  gentlemen  in  the  highest  sense  of 
that  word.  In  my  experience  the  system  is  worthy  and 
efficient,  neither  oppressive  nor  tyrannical  to  persons  de- 
sirous of  obeying  the  laws. 

It  is  not  possible  to  leave  the  beneficent  influences 
that  brood  over  the  crops  and  herds,  the  little  villages 
and  the  scattered  farms  of  beautiful  Pennsylvania 
without  consulting  that  sage  and  friendly  oracle,  the 
dean  of  them  all.  For  fifty  years,  dating  from  the 


Plowshare  and  Sword  277 

time  in  which  he  entered  the  public  educational  field 
through  which  he  gained  an  unparalleled  acquaintance 
with  the  people  at  large,  Dr.  Henry  Houck  has  filled 
a  succession  of  honorable  offices.  Elected  in  1906  to 
the  Secretaryship  of  Internal  Affairs,  he  has  ever  since 
retained  that  charge,  whose  duties  are  thus  officially 
defined  in  part: 

"He  [the  Secretary]  inquires  into  the  relations  of 
capital  and  labor  in  their  bearing  upon  the  social, 
educational,  and  industrial  welfare  of  all  classes  of 
working  people. " 

For  over  half  a  century  Dr.  Houck  has  loved  and 
worked  for  and  understood  and  defended  the  interests 
of  all  the  people.  And  here  is  what  he  says  of  the 
Black  Hussars: 

Our  Pennsylvania  State  Police  have  only  one  fault — 
There  are  not  enough  of  them.  They  save  the  State 
yearly  many,  many  thousands  of  dollars.  They  are 
serious,  wise,  good  men,  clean  and  fearless  and  honorable. 
They  give  peace  to  our  country  roads  and  to  our  farms  and 
little  villages.  Bad  people  are  kept  in  order  by  the  mere 
possibility  of  their  appearance.  Two  of  them  riding  into 
a  fair  grounds  or  great  public  gathering  impose  perfect 
safety  and  decorum  by  their  very  presence.  No  drunken- 
ness, disorder,  gambling,  or  picking  of  pockets  occur  when 
they  are  there.  They  have  no  alliances,  no  favorites,  no 
enemies.  They  are  the  true  friends  of  all.  There  is  no 
Head  of  Department  who  is  not  warmly  for  them  in  our 
State  Government,  and  /  know  of  no  man  of  weight  in  public 
life  who  is  not  their  admirer  and  ally.  All  good  people  who 
have  had  any  experience  of  them  delight  in  them.  They 
are  a  blessing  to  the  land. 

Major-General  Charles  Bowman  Dougherty  for  five 
years  commanded  the  Division  of  the  National  Guard 


278  Justice  to  All 

of  Pennsylvania,  until  his  retirement  in  1916  after  a 
continuous  service  of  thirty-four  years  from  private  to 
the  ultimate  rank.  General  Dougherty  is  rated  by 
military  critics  as  one  of  the  very  best  of  our  militia 
officers,  and  his  opinion  on  professional  structural 
matters  such  as  the  relation  of  the  State's  Police  to 
the  State's  National  Guard  carries  peculiar  weight. 
It  is  expressed  as  follows,  under  date  of  October  5, 
1916: 

If  we  are  ever  going  to  build  up  the  National  Guard 
to  make  it  a  national  force,  it  must  be  kept  free  from  being 
pushed  into  the  maelstrom  of  disputes  between  capital  and 
labor;  and  a  State  Police  such  as  ours  is  the  one  and  only 
means  to  achieve  this  end.  During  the  twenty-five  years 
preceding  the  formation  of  the  State  Police,  the  National 
Guard  of  this  State  was  frequently  called  upon  to  suppress 
riotous  disturbances  in  different  parts  of  the  State.  Since 
the  organization  of  the  State  Police  this  has  been  entirely 
avoided  excepting  upon  one  recent  occasion. 

The  National  Guard's  interests  are  therefore  greatly 
furthered  by  the  existence  and  efficiency  of  the  State 
Police  Force,  and  from  that  as  from  all  other  points  of  view 
involving  the  welfare  and  safety  of  the  people,  a  like  force 
should  exist  in  every  State  in  the  Union. 

But  such  a  force  can  be  organized  in  one  way  only, — 
as  ours  is  organized, — absolutely  free  from  politics  and 
with  a  fearless  and  uncompromising  soldier  at  its  head, 
who  will  allow  no  interference  from  any  source  whatever 
in  the  enforcement  of  the  law.  It  is  my  opinion  that  the 
whole  success  of  our  Force  is  due  to  the  administration  and 
training  of  Major  Groome. 

Attacks  have  often  been  made  upon  the  State  Police, 
and  many  allegations  of  wrong-doing  and  oppression  brought 
forward  against  it.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  practi- 
cally every  word  of  these  has  been  a  tissue  of  falsehood, 


Plowshare  and  Sword  279 

deliberately  manufactured  to  serve  the  venal  purposes  of 
demagogues. 

Every  citizen  of  Pennsylvania,  whatever  his  place  or 
calling,  who  sincerely  has  the  welfare  of  the  State  at  heart, 
is  unquestionably  strongly  in  favor  not  only  of  the  main- 
tenance but  also  of  the  increase  of  this  splendid  body  of  men. 

As  early  as  November,  1910,  Colonel  E.  M.  Weaver, 
U.  S.  A.,  Chief  of  the  Federal  Division  of  Militia  Affairs 
recommended  in  his  annual  report  to  the  Chief -of-Staff, 
that  the  State  Police  of  Pennsylvania  be  copied  by 
every  State.  He  continued: 

This  force  of  highly  trained  soldiers  of  the  highest  standard 
of  discipline,  maintained  constantly  in  the  most  efficient 
state  of  drill  and  equipment,  has  been  introduced  in  Penn- 
sylvania ...  to  supplement  the  work  of  the  city  police 
or  county  constabulary  in  any  part  of  the  State  in  case  of  an 
emergency  which  overtaxes  the  capacity  of  the  local  police 
or  constabulary.  It  operates  practically  to  relieve  the 
organized  militia  from  all  strike  or  other  duty  that  would 
bring  them  into  antagonism  with  representatives  of  the 
labor  unions,  and  reserves  the  militia  forces  of  the  State 
particularly  for  national  defense. 

Colonel  Weavers  report  was  variously  remarked  upon 
by  the  Pennsylvania  press.  The  Philadelphia  Bulletin's 
Washington  correspondent  wrote: 

The  attitude  of  the  labor  unions  toward  the  organized 
militia  has  created  a  very  pessimistic  feeling  among  officers 
of  the  Army  and  National  Guard.  .  .  .  The  officers  say  it 
is  almost  hopeless  to  expect  any  relief  from  the  present 
conditions  by  the  enactment  of  State  laws  or  through  any 
national  law  that  would  restrain  the  unions  from  their 
unfriendly  attitude.  The  preachings  of  patriotism  are 
of  no  effect,  even  where  it  is  shown  that  the  sole  purpose 


280  Justice  to  All 

of  the  militia  is  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order;  and  in 
Colonel  Weaver's  opinion  the  only  real,  practical  solution 
of  the  problem  lies  in  the  creation  by  the  other  States  of  a 
State  Police  on  the  lines  of  the  highly  trained  and  dis- 
ciplined State  Police  of  Pennsylvania.  ...  It  is  believed 
that  the  labor  unions  would  then  come  to  look  upon  the 
militia  as  a  force  for  national  defense  rather  than  as  a 
State  police,  and  in  the  course  of  time  their  opposition 
would  disappear. 

The  Public  Ledger  devoted  a  long  editorial  to  another 
point  of  view.  On  November  25,  1910,  it  said: 

Colonel  Weaver's  reference  to  "strike  duty"  or  to  the 
"labor  unions"  is  merely  incidental.  ...  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  assume  "antagonisms"  of  any  kind  among  members 
of  the  National  Guard  to  recognize  that  to  hold  them  subject 
to  call  upon  every  riotous  disturbance  with  which  the  local 
police  may  be  unable  to  cope  is  not  only  to  make  the  service 
unattractive,  but  to  hinder  its  proper  military  development. 
The  organized  militia  is  the  necessary  and  proper  reliance 
of  the  military  power  of  the  State  in  the  last  resort,  but  it 
ought  to  be  reserved  for  extraordinary  emergency.  Yet  the 
authority  of  the  State  must  have  an  adequate  representa- 
tion in  an  organized  force  ready  at  all  times  to  suppress 
disorder  and  maintain  the  law. 

The  State  Police,  though  organized  under  military 
discipline,  is  purely  a  civil  institution.  It  represents  the 
civil  authority  of  the  Commonwealth  as  truly  as  does  the 
city  policeman  or  the  country  constable.  The  difference 
is  that  it  represents  it  efficiently  and  in  an  impersonal  way, 
detached  from  local  interests  and  prejudices.  .  .  .  Such 
an  arm  of  the  Commonwealth  can  have  no  "antagonisms" 
and  any  antagonism  to  it  can  exist  only  among  those  in 
revolt  against  all  lawful  authority.  .  .  . 

Colonel  Weaver's  view  of  the  relation  of  the  State 
Police  principle  to  the  health  of  the  organized  militia 


Plowshare  and  Sword  281 

is  the  view  of  the  ranking  officers  of  the  regular  army 
to-day.     Says  Major-General  Leonard  Wood : 

I  believe  thoroughly  in  the  State  Police  idea  as  repre- 
sented by  that  admirable  organization,  the  State  Police 
Force  of  Pennsylvania.  I  have  advocated  the  adoption 
of  the  Pennsylvania  system  in  every  part  of  this  country, 
and  would  welcome  it  not  only  for  the  good  of  the  militia 
but  for  the  good  of  the  whole  people. 

To  consult  other  eminent  and  experienced  army 
officers  is  to  receive,  steadily,  the  same  unqualified 
opinion. 

Meantime  the  bearing  of  Pennsylvania's  brilliant  ex- 
periment upon  problems  vexing  the  whole  Union  has 
been  considered  in  many  quarters.  In  the  month  of 
June,  1915,  Governor  Walsh  of  Massachusetts  appointed 
a  Special  Commission  on  Military  Education  and 
Reserve,  to  investigate  and  recommend.  The  Commis- 
sion consisted  of  Messrs.  Robert  L.  Raymond,  lawyer, 
and  Walton  A.  Green,  editor  and  publisher  of  the 
Boston  Journal,  the  Reverend  Charles  W.  Lyons,  S.  J., 
President  of  Boston  College,  Alexander  Meiklejohn, 
President  of  Amherst  College,  J.  Frank  O'Hare  of  the 
Boston  Printing  Pressmen's  Union,  Major-Generals 
William  A.  Pew  and  William  Stopford,  and  Brigadier- 
General  John  J.  Sullivan,  M.V.M.,  retired,  and  Harold 
E.  Sweet,  manufacturer,  and  mayor  of  Attleboro. 

The  report  of  this  liberally  representative  committee, 
rendered  in  December,  1915,  contains  the  following 
passages: 

Fully  realizing  the  obvious  fact  that  the  present  interest 
in  questions  of  military  defense  .  .  .  [is]  due  to  the  proof 
furnished  by  the  terrible  conflict  in  Europe  that  war  is  not 


282  Justice  to  All 

yet  obsolete  and  must  still  be  reckoned  with,  we  have 
nevertheless  endeavored  to  treat  the  subjects  assigned  to  us 
from  a  broad 'point  of  view  and  to  submit  a  report  which 
shall  stand  the  test  of  normal  times.  We  have  kept  in  mind 
the  inutility  as  well  as  the  danger  of  schemes  so  elaborate 
or  radical  as  to  be  certain  to  fall  to  pieces  when  the  present 
intense  interest  in  military  affairs  passes.  Our  recom- 
mendations are  offered,  not  as  emergency  measures  but  as 
representing  a  fair  and  prudent  policy  in  the  march  of 
ordinary  and  usual  events.  .  .  . 

Our  right  to  make  suggestions  for  positive  action  is 
limited  to  what  may  be  done  by  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  early  in  our  delibera- 
tions it  became  evident  that  any  adequate  consideration 
of  the  topics  assigned  to  us  required  some  consideration  of 
the  whole  question  of  national  defense.  .  .  . 

Broad  principles  are  involved  and  now  is  the  proper  time 
to  face  the  issue  and  deal  with  it  frankly  and  resolutely. 
What,  to-day,  is  the  reason  for  the  existence  of  the  State 
Militia?  Why  is  money  expended  on  it?  Why  do  men 
enter  its  service  ? 

The  plain  answer  is,  as  an  arm  of  the  national  defense. 
That,  with  one  exception,  is  the  only  use  to  which  it  would 
or  could  be  put ;  that,  with  no  exception,  is  the  justification 
of  its  existence. 

The  exception  just  referred  to  is,  of  course,  the  use  of  the 
State  Militia  to  put  down  riots  accompanying  strikes,  or 
otherwise,  and  to  quell  other  civil  disorders. 

There  must  always  be  a  sufficient  force  to  maintain 
peace  at  all  times,  but  the  militia  is  not  a  body  fitted  to 
perform  police  duty.  The  situation  at  time  of  civil  riots, 
especially  accompanying  strikes,  is  so  tense  that  it  can  be 
handled  only  by  highly  efficient  and  thoroughly  disciplined 
men  who  are  professionals  in  their  duties.  The  militia 
is  not  a  body  either  armed  or  trained  to  handle  such  situa- 
tions well.  Moreoyer,  the  fact  that  the  militia  may  be 
called  upon  to  perform  police  duty  is  one  of  the  reasons  for 


Plowshare  and  Sword  283 

the  difficulty  it  has  in  securing  enlistments.  Police  duty 
of  this  sort  should  be  performed  by  a  trained  and  efficient 
State  mounted  police,  and  if  such  are  not  sufficient  the 
regular  army  should  be  called  upon  before  any  militia  or 
similar  force.  It  has  been  proved  again  and  again  that  the 
former  bodies  are  able  to  perform  strike  and  riot  duty  with  a 
maximum  of  efficiency  and  with  a  minimum  of  friction  and 
cost.  They  are  far  superior  for  this  purpose  to  any  body 
of  occasional  soldiers.  The  Commission  recommends  the  or- 
ganization of  a  State  force  of  mounted  police. 

And  it  should  be  observed  that  the  finding  headed  the 
list  denominated  by  the  Commission  "definite  recom- 
mendations .  .  .  where  it  is  not  only  proper  but 
necessary  for  the  State  Legislature  to  act." 

No  fewer  than  nine  times  in  the  last  decade  the 
National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania  must  assuredly  have 
been  mobilized  for  riot  service  but  for  the  little  handful 
of  State  Police. 

But  the  State  Police  is,  after  all,  only  a  handful,  and, 
marvelously  as  its  superb  efficiency  multiplies  its 
power,  it  cannot  be  everywhere  at  once.  It  was  always 
on  the  cards,  therefore,  that  some  fine  day  while  impera- 
tive need  was  concentrating  the  whole  of  the  little  Force 
in  a  given  locality,  a  serious  demand  for  police  service 
would  arise  elsewhere.  It  was  always  on  the  cards. 
Yet  in  Pennsylvania  as  in  all  our  easy-going  country, 
men  cannot  be  moved  to  action  by  the  menace  of 
trouble,  however  black;  the  trouble  must  have  been 
actually  fastened  upon  us  before  we  will  look  it  in  the 
face.  Like  the  Assemblies  of  1907  and  1909,  that  of 
1915  defeated  the  bill  to  increase  the  size  of  the  Force; 
and  although  every  Governor  since  Governor  Penny- 
packer's  day  has  supported  the  State  Police,  not  one 
has  been  found  with  the  initiative  and  the  courage  of 


284  Justice  to  All 

the  farmer- judge — not  one  has  been  found  who  had 
the  mettle  to  put,  for  once,  his  duty  to  the  Common- 
wealth above  a  fear  of  risk  to  his  own  political  fortunes 
through  the  noisy  bogey  of  the  "  Labor  Vote."  So 
many  men  who,  on  general  principles,  have  steered 
this  cautious  course  have  gone  down  from  the  polls  to 
defeat  and  oblivion  for  their  pains  that  there  would 
seem  to  be  a  certain  dreary  dullness  in  continuing  to  be 
afraid.  The  people,  all  the  people,  so  dearly  love  a 
brave  man  that,  if  they  could  really  see  such  a  pheno- 
menon, who  knows  that  they  would  not,  in  their  excite- 
ment, thrust  office  upon  him  merely  because  he  had 
scorned  to  play  for  it? 

In  the  spring  of  1915-16,  while  the  disgraceful 
conditions  in  Wilkes-Barre  were  holding  in  that  vicinity 
all  four  Troops  of  the  State  Police,  trouble  broke  out 
near  Pittsburgh,  at  the  extreme  opposite  end  of  the 
State.  No  part  of  the  Force  could  be  withdrawn  from 
the  eastern  service  to  meet  this  latter  need;  the  result 
would  have  been  intolerable.  Therefore,  for  the  first 
time  in  over  ten  years,  it  became  necessary  to  call  upon 
the  National  Guard  for  police  duty. 

The  following  statement,  furnished  by  the  Adjutant- 
General's  office  under  date  of  October  19,  1916,  covers 
this  event : 

Unfortunately  the  four  Troops  of  the  State  Police  were 
all  busily  employed  in  protecting  the  interests  of  the  public 
in  Wyoming  Valley  during  the  street  car  strike  last  spring, 
when  the  emergency  arose  in  the  Allegheny  County  [Pitts- 
burgh] district.  Therefore  no  State  Police  were  available 
for  service. 

The  Governor  then  decided  that  it  was  necessary  to 
call  out  a  portion  of  the  National  Guard  of  the  State  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  the  citizens  of  the  towns  of  Wilmerd- 


Plowshare  and  Sword  283 

ing,  Turtle  Creek,  Braddock,  and  East  Pittsburgh,  who  were 
being  intimidated  by  irresponsible  mobs,  largely  composed 
of  foreigners. 

For  this  purpose  the  Governor  directed  the  Adjutant- 
General  to  call  out  and  place  on  active  duty  in  the  field  of 
disturbance  four  troops  of  cavalry  and  one  regiment  of 
infantry.  A  second  regiment  of  infantry  was  mobilized, 
six  companies  of  it  at  their  home  station  and  six  companies 
of  it  at  regimental  headquarters,  which  was  on  the  main 
line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  at  Greensburg,  within 
an  hour's  run  of  the  affected  district.  These  troops  were 
kept  on  duty  from  May  2d  until  May  iQth. 

All  the  bills  for  this  tour  of  duty  have  not  as  yet  been 
audited,  but  the  approximate  cost  to  the  State  for  trans- 
portation, subsistence,  and  pay  will  amount  to  about 
$57,000.00  while  the  cost  of  material  and  stores  rendered 
unserviceable  by  this  tour  of  duty  will  approximate  $20,- 
ooo.oo  additional. 


Therefore,  the  cash  cost  to  the  State  for  those  seven- 
teen days  of  Guard  Service  was  about  seventy-seven 
thousand  dollars,  or  over  a  quarter  of  the  entire  sum 
required  to  maintain  the  whole  State  Police  Squadron 
for  a  year.  A  detail  of  twenty  troopers,  had  such  been 
available  at  the  time,  would  assuredly  have  handled 
the  situation  with  ease.  This  no  one  disputes.  And 
the  cost  to  the  State  would  then  have  been  repre- 
sented by  the  draft  on  the  regular  annual  appropria- 
tion of  the  State  Police  Department  for  the  expense 
of  stabling  the  mounts  away  from  home. 

This  extreme  contrast  constitutes  no  reflection 
whatever  upon  the  Guard,  but  merely  underscores  the 
extravagance  and  folly  of  using  weapons  unfit  for  the 
work  to  be  done.  Major  Groome,  whose  loyalty 
to  the  Guard  no  one  could  question,  has  himself  said: 


286  Justice  to  All 

In  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  in  time  of  riot, 
the  great  advantage  of  the  State  Police  over  the  National 
Guard  lies  in  its  experience  and  special  training.  For 
sixteen  years  I  had  the  honor  to  command  the  First  City 
Troop  of  Philadelphia.  That  organization  is  composed 
of  men  who  are  absolutely  free,  fearless,  and  willing.  I  think 
I  had  their  confidence,  and  I  am  convinced  that,  in  case  of 
trouble,  they  would  have  gone  with  me  anywhere.  I  have 
been  out  on  active  duty  with  these  troops,  and  I  know  that 
men  of  that  sort,  no  matter  how  able  they  are  physically, 
mentally,  and  morally,  do  not  know  what  to  do  when  faced 
with  a  lawless  mob  eight  or  ten  thousand  strong.  Nor  can 
the  National  Guard  officer  so  placed  be  sure  of  his  right 
course,  either. 

It  takes  a  certain  amount  of  experience  to  know  just  how 
many  bricks  to  let  a  man  throw  before  you  attempt  to 
defend  yourself,  just  how  many  shots  to  fire,  and  just  how 
much  abuse  you  will  stand  before  you  make  a  move;  to 
know  that  you  need  not  lose  your  head  because  four  or  five 
men  out  of  one  or  two  thousand  are  stoning  you;  and  to 
know  that  one  man  can  ride  into  such  a  crowd,  arrest  three 
or  four  rioters  and  bring  them  out  again,  as  my  State  Police 
troopers  have  repeatedly  done.  Experience  and  steady 
training  are  essential  to  all  this. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1916  came  that  other  long- 
heralded  event,  the  call  of  the  Guard  to  the  border. 
And  then,  indeed,  was  it  evident  that  the  National 
Guard  and  the  State  Police  are  not  in  truth  rival  bodies. 
When  the  Guards  of  the  States  marched  off  to  the 
front,  Pennsylvania  alone  of  all  the  Union  possessed  a 
competent  organized  Force  at  home  to  watch  over  and 
protect  her  own  home  people. 

The  Auditor-General,  Mr.  A.  W.  Powell,  who  is  also  a 
member  of  the  State  Military  Board  and  a  Spanish 
War  veteran  of  fighting  record,  says: 


Plowshare  and  Sword  287 

Since  its  release  by  the  State  Police  from  the  burden  of 
police  duty  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania  has  enjoyed 
a  resultant  increase  in  the  number  of  enlistments  and  a 
raising  of  the  standards  of  both  officers  and  men.  The 
personnel  has  improved  from  25%  to  50%  since  the  creation 
of  the  State  Police.  Both  officers  and  men  have  become 
careful  students  of  military  problems,  both  tactical  and 
administrative,  and  many  of  the  companies  and  regiments 
have  waiting  lists  composed  of  clean,  active  young  men 
who  desire  the  benefit  of  such  study. 

A  single  scene  from  actual  life  will  suffice  to  point 
the  thought  underlying  Mr.  Powell's  opinion.  It 
occurred  in  a  certain  infantry  armory,  one  night  late  in 
June,  1916.  The  place  was  a  beehive  for  business. 
Rows  of  officials  sat  at  long  tables  confronted  by  stacks 
of  documents.  Orderlies  ran  hither  and  yon  with 
lists,  letters,  and  messages.  Faces  were  drawn  and 
tense  with  the  stress  of  hurry  and  detail.  No  one 
spoke  above  the  least  of  his  voice.  And  through  it  all 
beat  the  "thud- thud"  of  marching  feet.  Down  on 
the  armory  floor  full  ranks  of  lads  in  khaki  were  going 
through  the  drill.  Around  the  doors  they  clustered 
thick,  waiting  their  turn — a  fine  and  fresh  and  sturdy 
lot — the  sort  that  made  the  good  old  Pennsylvania 
regiments  over  half  a  century  ago. 

"  Has  it  come  ? ' '  one  would  say  to  another.  And  again : 
''Have  you  heard?  Oh,  I  hope  it  comes  to-night!" 

In  the  gallery  sat  a  few  old  men,  watching  their 
grandsons  with  tender  eyes.  In  '62  it  had  been  their 
day.  Now  their  hearts  were  full.  They  did  not 
speak.  Each  sat  apart. 

The  colonel  stood  in  his  office  door  looking  down 
on  the  scene — a  good  colonel,  a  real  colonel,  but  with 
an  anxious  mien. 


288  Justice  to  All 

"Good  boys  they  are,"  said  he,  "good  boys  that  will 
make  good  soldiers.  But  if  we  are  not  ordered  to  the 
front  within  two  days'  time  I  shall  lose  half  of  them. 
They  will  slide  off  and  join  some  marching  regiment. 
They  are  riddled  with  fear  that  the  Governor  means  to  hold 
us  here  to  handle  a  railway  strike!  If  only  that  last 
precious  Legislature  of  ours  could  have  forgotten  its 
vicious  little  pocket  politics  for  fifteen  minutes  and 
doubled  our  State  Police — Great  Heavens!  What 
wouldn't  it  have  meant  to  us  now!" 


CHAPTER  XX 

FOUNDATIONS  OF  ROCK 

IT  will  have  been  remarked  in  the  preceding  chapters 
that  a  considerable  vagueness  exists,  in  popular  usage, 
as  to  the  name  of  Major  Groome's  command.  The 
Act  of  May  2,  1905,  created  the  Department  of  State 
Police.  The  arm  operating  under  that  Act  is  entitled 
the  State  Police  Force  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the  early 
days  of  its  existence,  the  press  began  calling  it  "the 
Constabulary, "  as  an  easy  if  loose  method  of  differ- 
entiation from  other  police  bodies;  and  the  word 
" Constabulary"  has  from  that  time  been  much  in 
common  use.  It  has,  however,  not  the  slightest  color 
of  authority.  This  is  here  repeated  for  emphasis. 

A  particular  description  of  the  working  conditions 
of  the  State  Police  has  been  left  until  now,  in  order  that 
it  might  be  given  as  evolved  by  experience  and  of 
present  date. 

The  Superintendent  is  the  executive  head  of  the 
Department.  The  official  headquarters  of  the  Depart- 
ment, like  those  of  other  branches  of  State  Government, 
is  in  the  Capitol  at  Harrisburg.  This  head  office  is 
under  immediate  charge  of  the  deputy  superintendent, 
and  is  the  bureau  of  records  and  the  clearing  house  of 
the  four  Troops.  Here,  each  day,  comes  the  detailed 
report  of  each  Troop  captain,  giving  the  condition, 
whereabouts,  and  occupation  of  every  several  man  and 
horse  in  his  command,  with  a  complete  statement  of 
all  operations  of  the  previous  day,  and  with  the  full 
19  289 


290  Justice  to  All 

and  signed  report  of  any  trooper  who  may  have  re- 
turned from  special  duty.  All  these  reports  from  the 
four  Troops  are  daily  consolidated  and  submitted  in 
orderly  form  to  the  Superintendent.  Here,  also,  come 
the  full  monthly  reports  of  each  Troop  commander,  and 
here  are  prepared  the  monthly  pay-roll,  the  monthly 
deduction  sheets,  and  the  vouchers  covering  the 
expenditures  of  the  Troops.  These  last  also  go  to  the 
Superintendent,  for  examination  and  signature;  and 
it  is  the  Superintendent  who  draws  all  checks  for 
disbursement  of  funds. 

When  a  man  asks  for  appointment  to  the  Force,  he 
is  directed  to  make  out  an  application  showing  his  past 
experience  and  recommendations.  This  application 
is  then  added  to  the  waiting  list,  and  at  the  proper  time 
a  very  careful  inquiry  is  instituted  into  the  record  of 
the  aspirant.  If  it  proves  in  any  way  unsatisfactory, 
his  name  is  considered  no  further.  If  his  past  record 
of  experience  and  character  is  sufficiently  good,  the 
man  is  then  summoned  to  Harrisburg  or  to  Philadelphia 
and  put  through  an  exceedingly  rigorous  physical 
examination.  This  and  the  succeeding  mental  test 
being  successfully  passed,  the  applicant  is  enlisted,  and 
sent  to  "C"  Troop  barracks  at  Pottsville,  where  he 
spends  four  months  as  a  probationer,  unless  weeded 
out  before  that  period  is  completed. 

In  Pottsville,  the  probationer  is  given  daily  schooling 
in  the  criminal,  forestry,  and  game  laws  of  the  State, 
with  daily  mounted  and  dismounted  drill,  is  taught 
the  care  of  horses,  and  of  arms  and  equipment,  and  is 
instructed  in  general  in  the  duties  of  the  Police.  The 
work  of  these  probationary  months  is  made  extremely 
stiff,  and  when  men  drop  out  under  it  their  going  is 
welcomed,  as  having  saved  further  waste  of  time  and 


Foundations  of  Rock  291 

opportunity.  During  this  period,  also,  great  care  is 
taken,  of  a  volunteer  nature,  to  impress  on  the  proba- 
tioner the  arduous  character  of  the  service  to  which  he 
aspires. 

"Maybe  you  think  that  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  keep 
your  buttons  bright  and  look  pretty  on  a  horse, "  says 
one  real  trooper.  ' '  You'll  see ! " 

"Maybe  you  fancy  yourself  doing  twelve-hour  days, 
and  going  to  bed  at  night  like  other  people,"  says 
another.  "How  will  you  like  it  when  they  turn  you 
out  at  two  in  the  morning  to  ride  twenty  miles  in  a 
blizzard  for  the  pleasure  of  getting  your  head  blown  off 
by  a  drunken  lunatic  that's  molesting  a  vacant  lot?" 

And  among  them  all,  if  the  probationer  has  a  white 
feather  anywhere  in  his  heart's  plumage,  their  sharp 
eyes  are  like  to  find  it  out!, 

But  if  he  survives  the  four  months'  probation,  and 
seems  withal  of  likely  stuff  to  the  officer  commanding, 
he  is  assigned  to  one  of  the  four  Troops  and  goes  on 
regular  duty.  It  will  be  a  long  time  yet,  however, 
before  he  will  be  permitted  to  go  out  alone  on  any  sort 
of  service.  The  name  of  the  Force  is  too  precious  a 
thing  to  be  trusted  to  the  imperfect  judgment  of  a  new 
man. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Force  is  to-day 
recruited  with  much  more  care  than  was  possible  in  the 
day  of  its  origin.  In  the  beginning  the  entire  body  was 
assembled  at  once  and  at  short  notice.  There  was  no 
time  to  go  far  below  the  surface  of  a  man's  recommenda- 
tions. Now,  with  a  waiting  list  of  at  least  one  hun- 
dred promising  candidates,  it  is  possible  to  make  very 
thorough  investigation  before  accepting  a  man  as  a 
probationer. 

Promotions  in  the  Force  are  invariably  made  from 


292  Justice  to  All 

the  ranks  and  after  rigorous  examination.  "I  have 
not  a  captain  or  lieutenant  to-day  who  held  that 
position  when  the  Force  was  formed,"  says  Major 
Groome.  "At  that  time  it  was  necessary  to  select 
what  I  considered  the  best-trained  men  who  came  before 
me.  Some  of  those  men,  in  the  course  of  time,  did  not 
prove  all  that  I  wanted  of  them.  They  were  not  fitted 
to  handle  the  position  and  were  therefore  dropped  out. 
After  the  original  formation,  I  have  never  started  a  man 
on  the  Force  otherwise  than  as  a  private." 

Of  the  two  hundred  and  thirty  officers  and  men  com- 
posing the  Force  to-day,  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
are  honorably  discharged  soldiers  of  the  regular  army. 
Many  of  these  were  non-commissioned  officers.  Many 
of  them  had  served  two  or  three  terms  of  enlistment, 
and  their  discharge  papers  were  of  the  sort  that  con- 
stitute the  most  thorough  recommendation  that  a  man 
can  show.  How  important  it  is  to  the  service  of  the 
State  that  the  recruits  should  be  of  this  stock,  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that,  even  with  the  best  mental  equipment 
and  the  best  previous  experience  and  training,  no  man 
is  considered  thoroughly  qualified  as  a  State  Police 
Trooper  until  he  has  been  put  through  eighteen  months 
of  the  special  training  that  Troop  schooling  and  Troop 
experience  provide. 

Punishment  for  misconduct  is  governed  entirely  by 
court-martial.  No  man,  since  the  day  the  Force  was 
organized,  has  been  punished  in  the  slightest  degree 
without  a  fair  trial  before  such  a  court,  where  he  might 
produce  witnesses  and  evidence  in  his  own  behalf,  and 
which  was  conducted  by  his  commanding  officer.  If 
the  accused  proves  that  the  charge  against  him  is  in- 
correct, no  record  is  made  of  it;  if  he  is  found  guilty, 
the  evidence,  with  the  sentence  of  the  court,  is  sub- 


Foundations  of  Rock  293 

mitted  to  the  Superintendent  and  by  him  confirmed 
or  modified.  And  it  is  deserving  of  note  that  no  con- 
victed man  has  ever  challenged  the  justice  of  the 
finding. 

"The  men  all  know,"  says  Major  Groome,  "that  if 
they  behave  properly  they  can  remain  on  the  Force; 
that  if  they  do  not  behave  properly  they  will  be  fined 
or  dismissed;  that  once  they  are  dismissed  no  power 
on  earth  can  get  them  back  again,  and  that  if  they  conduct 
themselves  as  they  should  and  fulfill  their  whole  duty 
no  power  on  earth  can  procure  their  dismissal." 

In  the  records  of  the  earlier  years,  a  vigorous  and 
continued  weeding-out  is  evident.  Twenty-seven  men, 
thirty-two  men,  forty  men,  were  then  discarded  annu- 
ally "for  the  good  of  the  service."  Even  to-day,  the 
annual  Troop  reports  show  a  persistent  although 
shorter  series  of  dismissals  for  the  same  reason. 

"Having  Intoxicating  Liquor  in  Quarters,"  "Drink- 
ing Intoxicating  Liquor  while  on  Duty,"  "Asleep  on 
Duty,"  "Abusing  a  Horse"  (this  man  switched  a  horse 
over  the  head),  "Conduct  Disgraceful  to  the  Service  of 
the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  Force,"  "Conduct 
Unbecoming  a  State  Policeman  and  a  Gentleman" — 
such  entries  as  these,  especially  to  one  knowing  the 
circumstances  behind  them,  provoke  speculation  as  to 
how  many  organizations,  secular  or  religious,  would 
retain  any  considerable  percentage  of  their  personnel 
if  every  member  chargeable  in  such  degree  were  sum- 
marily dismissed.  But  it  is  worthy  of  special  remark 
that  almost  without  exception  the  men  so  dismissed 
from  the  State  Police  Force  are  new  recruits,  and  that 
their  failure  occurs  in  fact  in  the  working  out  of  the 
original  test  and  represents  the  general  crumpling  up 
of  the  insufficient  stuff  that  is  in  them. 


294  Justice  to  All 

The  annual  report  of  "A"  Troop  for  1915  shows  that 
its  captain,  its  lieutenant,  and  five  of  its  non-com- 
missioned officers  are  now  serving  in  their  sixth  con- 
tinuous term  of  enlistment ;  that  two  non-commissioned 
officers  and  one  private  are  serving  in  their  fourth 
continuous  enlistment;  that  three  non-commissioned 
officers  and  sixteen  privates  are  serving  in  their  third 
continuous  term;  and  that  ten  privates  are  serving  in 
their  second  continuous  term.  From  men  seasoned, 
proved,  and  made,  like  these,  the  State  gets  her  full 
meed  of  service.  Among  men  such  as  these  a  lapse 
of  conduct  is  exceedingly  rare. 

Many  times  in  this  book  mention  has  been  made  of 
allegations  of  misconduct  brought  against  the  Force — 
allegations  of  brutalities,  of  acts  of  oppression  and  of 
violence.  All  of  these  charges  have  emanated  from 
sources  whose  delight  would  be  to  prove  them  to  be 
facts.  Practically  all  of  them  concern  acts  alleged  to 
have  been  committed  before  many  witnesses. 

Now,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  possesses  a  grand 
jury  system,  by  virtue  of  which  the  citizen  who  believes 
that  a  wrong  of  any  magnitude  has  been  done  in  his 
community  has  recourse  to  three  remedies:  He  can 
make  information  personally  and  have  the  accused 
arrested  on  warrant;  he  can  go  to  the  district  attorney 
and  lodge  complaint;  or  he  can  appear  before  the  grand 
jury,  occasion  a  presentment  to  be  made,  and  have  the 
accused  indicted  before  the  grand  jury. 

All  of  these  means  have  always  been  open  to  those 
who  charge  wrongful  acts  against  the  State  Police. 
All  of  these  means  are  easy  to  employ.  Yet  only  once 
in  the  whole  period  of  the  existence  of  the  Force  has 
any  charge  of  misconduct  of  any  kind  been  sustained 
in  any  court  in  the  State  against  a  State  Police  officer. 


Foundations  of  Rock  295 

And  that  solitary  exception  is  not  one  that  an  enemy 
can  profitably  investigate. 

For  the  government  of  the  Force  there  is  no  printed 
manual.  Experimental  as  was  its  beginning,  Major 
Groome  considered  it  unwise  to  frame  a  code  at  that 
time,  preferring  to  depend  on  regular  military  discipline, 
supplemented  by  general  orders  issued  as  developments 
should  suggest.  General  Order  Number  6,  1908, 
Paragraph  IV,  reads  as  follows: 

Any  member  of  this  Force  known  to  have  used  outside 
influence  for  the  furtherance  of  his  interests  will  be  con- 
sidered as  acknowledging  his  incompetence  and  will  be 
dropped  from  the  service. 

If  any  man  at  that  time  in  the  service  dreamed  that 
the  Superintendent  might  not  mean  just  what  he  said, 
his  illusion  soon  took  wing.  The  first  victim  of  General 
Order  Number  6  was  a  lieutenant  who  occasioned  a 
senator  and  certain  other  influential  men  to  urge  his 
name  for  appointment  to  an  existing  vacancy  in  the 
rank  of  captain.  On  receipt  of  the  letters  of  the  lieuten- 
ant's influential  friends,  the  Superintendent  promptly 
sat  down  and  made  out  a  dismissal  from  the  service. 
Thereafter,  if  any  member  of  the  Force  found  his 
wayward  thoughts  straying  toward  a  "pull,"  he  had 
only  to  remember  General  Order  Number  6  and  the 
Foolish  Lieutenant  to  save  the  Superintendent  a  per- 
fectly useless  annoyance. 

General  Order  Number  27,  1909,  reads: 

Any  member  of  the  Force  who  is  found  guilty  of  having 
taken  an  active  interest  in  Politics,  or  who  has  endeavored 
to  influence  the  vote  of  any  other  person,  either  a  member 


296  Justice  to  All 

of  the  Force  or  a  private  citizen,  will  be  Dishonorably 
Discharged  and  fined  two  weeks'  pay. 

This  mandate,  also,  like  every  other  in  the  files, 
means  exactly  what  it  says,  and  is  observed  to  the 
letter.  From  the  Superintendent  down,  no  officer 
on  the  Force  takes  cognizance  of  the  political  tenets 
of  any  member  of  the  Force  in  any  way  whatsoever. 
Politics  are  taboo,  utterly,  to  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Police. 

In  the  beginning  there  was  no  regulation  concerning 
marriage.  Some  married  men  were  originally  enlisted 
and  among  the  unwed  presently  sprang  up  a  true 
matrimonial  epidemic,  such  as  commonly  attacks 
second  lieutenants  of  the  regular  army  in  remote  posts. 
Just  as  every  good  regimental  commander  would 
surely  stop  that  epidemic,  if  he  could,  so  Major  Groome 
felt  the  necessity,  "for  the  good  of  the  service,"  of 
arresting  its  spread  in  his  command.  The  difference 
was,  that  the  major  possessed — as  he  still  possesses — 
power  to  ordain  that  which  should  be  ordained,  while 
the  regular  army  colonel  can  only  make  himself  dis- 
liked by  repeating  his  candid  and  futile  opinion.  There- 
fore, it  was  early  decreed  that  no  more  married  men  be 
added  to  the  Force. 

Next,  in  March,  1907,  General  Order  Number  3 
was  issued.  It  runs: 

To  maintain  the  efficiency  of  the  Force,  and  owing 
to  the  fact  that  married  men  sleep  out  of  barracks  and  are 
not  immediately  available  at  all  times  for  service,  hereafter 
any  member  of  the  Force  getting  married  will  be  honorably 
discharged. 

"I  know  it  seems  rather  severe,"  said  the  Superin- 
tendent, at  the  time,  "  but  marriage  will  not  do  for  our 


Foundations  of  Rock  297 

troopers.  In  this  work  minutes  count.  Our  men  must 
be  ready  to  swing  into  the  saddle  at  briefest  notice, 
day  or  night;  and  that  means  barracks  life.  We  do 
not  enlist  married  men  now,  and  it  is  unjust  that  a  man 
may  enlist  as  single,  then  shortly  marry  and  still  re- 
main in  the  ranks." 

The  same  regulation  is  still  operative,  but  with  one 
modification:  After  having  served  two  terms  of  en- 
listment, or  four  years,  a  man  may  marry,  if  his  officer, 
knowing  all  the  circumstances,  approves.  It  is  con- 
sidered that  after  four  years'  service  a  trooper  will  fully 
realize  how  much  time  he  is  likely  to  have  for  his  family 
and  what  the  risks  mean;  also,  that  the  slight  increase 
of  pay  accumulated  by  the  third  term  of  enlistment  will 
help  him  in  his  heavier  expenses. 

The  schooling  of  the  trooper  by  no  means  ends  with 
his  four  months  of  probation.  On  the  contrary,  re- 
cruits' schools,  troop  schools,  and  non-commissioned 
officers'  schools  are  held  in  every  barracks  four  times 
weekly.  In  these  various  classes  are  studied  criminal 
law,  criminal  procedure,  the  laws  of  evidence,  detective 
work  and  psychology,  the  Game,  Fish,  Forestry,  and 
Automobile  laws,  police  duties,  including  conduct  of 
patrols,  the  manner  of  making  arrests  and  preferring 
charges,  etc.,  detailed  sectional  geography  of  the  State, 
discipline,  deportment,  the  preparation  of  reports, 
vouchers,  and  official  communications,  care  of  equip- 
ment, stable  hygiene,  diseases  of  the  horse,  and  horse- 
manship. And  the  man  in  his  sixth  term  of  service 
is  as  strictly  kept  to  his  own  grade  of  class-work  as  is 
the  newest  novice. 

Regular  mounted  and  dismounted  drill,  and  frequent 
target  practice  are  also  obligatory.  Marksmanship 
fifty  per  cent,  perfect  is  exacted  of  every  trooper,  and 


298  Justice  to  All 

the  average  member  of  the  Force  can  show  a  consider- 
ably better  record.  The  squadron  revolver  team  holds 
the  United  States  Revolver  Association's  Medal  for 
1915.  It  holds  also  the  Winans  Trophy,  which  means 
that,  as  a  team,  the  four  troopers  composing  it,  Sergeant 
H.  G.  Moore  and  Privates  C.  B.  Nicholson  and  J.  P. 
Strobel  of  "A"  Troop  and  Private  R.  D.  Watts  of 
Troop  "B,"  are  the  best  recorded  revolver  shots  in  the 
world. 

The  following  excerpt  from  an  "A"  Troop  report 
suggests  that  the  Force's  marksmanship  may  fill  a 
checkered  variety  of  needs: 

Jan.  10,  1914.  Coroner  H.  A.  McMurray  this  night 
complained  that  an  insane  man  had  assaulted  him  and  at- 
tempted to  kill  him  with  a  knife,  and  that  he  had  since 
barricaded  himself  in  a  house,  in  Youngstown,  and  was 
defying  the  local  authorities.  Sergeant  Graham  and  Private 
Snyder,  detailed,  proceeded  to  Youngstown  and  found  the 
insane  man  barricaded  in  a  small  dark  room,  furious,  and 
armed  with  a  large  butcher's  knife.  Owing  to  the  position 
he  had  taken,  it  was  impossible  to  overcome  him  by  direct 
methods.  So,  while  Sergeant  Graham  held  the  ray  of  his 
pocket  flash-light  on  the  man  Private  Snyder  shot  the 
knife  from  his  hand  with  his  service  revolver.  It  was  then 
possible  to  close  with  him  without  any  particular  injury  to 
officers  or  prisoner. 

In  studying  detective  work,  one  method  often  pur- 
sued is  to  take  up  some  remarkable  case  worked  out  by 
a  famous  detective,  to  state  the  situation  and  circum- 
stances step  by  step,  and  to  put  to  the  class  this  ques- 
tion: "What  would  you  do  under  these  conditions?" 
— then  to  study  the  course  actually  pursued  and  the 
reasons  of  its  successes  or  failures.  In  the  same  way, 


Foundations  of  Rock  299 

interesting  cases  of  to-day,  of  all  descriptions,  are 
followed,  discussed,  and  analyzed,  through  the  course 
of  their  enactment.  There  is  no  special  Secret  Service 
department,  but  every  man  on  the  Force  is  called  upon 
from  time  to  time  to  do  detective  work;  and,  given  his 
native  intelligence,  his  careful  training,  and  his  constant 
and  enlivening  experience,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
every  trooper  by  his  second  term  of  enlistment  can  do 
that  work  fairly  well.  Some,  however,  have  developed 
peculiar  gifts  in  the  line,  and  rank  among  the  best 
detectives  in  the  country. 

The  importance  of  legal  training  to  the  Force  cannot 
be  overestimated.  The  strength  of  the  Force  is  the 
strength  of  being  always  right.  The  man  who  again 
and  again  finds  himself,  in  critical  junctures,  alone 
and  remote  from  the  possibility  of  advice  or  help,  with 
the  honor  of  the  State  resting  in  his  hands — resting 
on  the  justice  of  his  instant  act  in  her  behalf — must 
not  only  know  the  State's  laws  but  must  perceive  in  a 
flash  and  with  absolute  certainty  the  true  legal  aspect 
of  each  situation  as  it  comes. 

An  illustration  by  opposites  is  detailed  in  the  Chief 
Game  Protector's  Annual  Report  for  1911.  In  this 
year,  in  Armstrong  County,  two  special  wardens  set  out 
under  official  direction  to  seize  a  number  of  shotguns  in 
the  possession  of  aliens.  In  Pennsylvania,  it  may  be 
recalled,  aliens  are  forbidden  by  law  to  have  such 
weapons.  The  guns  were  properly  seized,  without 
violence,  and  duly  forwarded  to  the  office  of  the  Game 
Commission ;  so  also  were  the  fines  collected  therewith. 
The  wardens  then  had  fulfilled  their  simple  duty  and 
no  wrong  had  been  done  to  anyone.  Nevertheless  those 
wardens,  promptly  arrested  for  burglary,  robbery, 
extortion,  and  several  other  charges,  spent  some  weeks 


300  Justice  to  All 

in  jail  and  were  personally  mulcted  in  considerable 
sums. 

The  manner  of  it  was  this:  The  justice  of  the 
peace  to  whom  they  originally  applied  for  a  search 
warrant  had  an  ordinary  justice's  acquaintance  with 
the  law.  He  conceived  that  he  might  issue  one  warrant 
to  cover  the  search  of  the  several  houses  of  which  search 
was  desired.  This,  it  appears,  may  not  be  done. 
Acting  on  the  warrant,  therefore,  the  wardens  were 
guilty,  under  a  technicality,  and  the  jury  so  found. 
The  Court  refused  to  consider  the  conditions  of  the 
case — that  the  men  were  under  commission  and  bond 
from  the  Game  Commission,  that  they  were  enforcing 
established  laws  by  appointed  means,  and  that  the  only 
real  fault  lay  in  the  defective  knowledge  of  the  justice 
of  the  peace.  Unmoved  by  these  things  the  Court 
sentenced  the  accused  to  pay  fines,  with  the  alternative 
of  one  hundred  days'  imprisonment  in  the  workhouse. 

Then  followed  a  sequel.  Although  six  or  more 
indictments  had  been  found  against  the  wardens,  they 
were  convicted  under  but  one.  So  to  them  in  prison 
came  the  cunning  attorneys  for  the  aliens.  "Pay 
back,"  said  they,  "to  our  clients  all  the  monies  you 
took  from  them;  also  the  full  value  of  the  guns;  also  all 
costs ;  also  our  fees  as  attorneys.  Then  we  will  see  that 
the  remaining  indictments  are  quashed.  Otherwise  no 
sooner  are  these  hundred  days  done  than  you  shall  be 
imprisoned  again,  and  yet  again,  till  you  forget  the  face 
of  the  sun." 

And  in  very  truth  the  terrorized  wardens  did  pay 
down  several  hundreds  of  dollars  to  these  slippery 
gentry,  as  may  be  read  in  full  in  the  Commission's 
report. 

It  needs   little  imagination   to  conceive  the  effect 


Foundations  of  Rock  301 

upon  the  grinning  aliens,  as  upon  all  the  lawless  element 
within  news  of  the  event,  of  so  flagrant  a  defeat  of  the 
State.  And  it  is  not  hard  to  see  that  if  such  a  judgment 
could  possibly  be  meted  out  upon  the  work  of  the 
State  Police,  its  prestige  would  be  utterly  gone  and  the 
whole  body  would  amount  to  nothing  more  than  a  body 
of  common  constables  carrying  water  in  sieves. 

Says  the  Fisheries  Commissioner,  in  his  Report  of 
1912:  "In  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  one  hundred  the 
docket  of  an  ordinary  justice  falls  completely  when 
taken  before  a  court  of  record  on  certiorari" 

The  ordinary  justice  of  the  peace  has  no  legal  know- 
ledge worth  the  name.  But  the  State  Trooper  who 
comes  before  him  is  completely  familiar  with  the  law 
governing  his  case ;  therefore  between  them  no  mistakes 
occur. 

Says  Major  Groome:  "We  have  not  one  man  on  the 
Force  who  has  been  on  for  two  years  who  cannot 
present  a  case  before  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and  present  the  proper  evidence.  For  that  reason 
our  total  number  of  convictions  in  proportion  to  our 
total  of  arrests  is  very  large.  We  have  averaged  from 
eighty  to  ninety  per  cent,  of  convictions  to  the  arrests 
made.  This  is  only  rendered  possible  by  the  fact  that 
the  men  know  when  they  have  the  right  to  make  arrests, 
when  a  crime  has  been  committed,  what  constitutes 
proper  evidence,  and  how  to  present  that  evidence  in 
bringing  the  case  before  the  justice." 

When  the  district  attorney  tries  a  case  prepared  by 
the  State  Police,  he  receives  a  criminal  docket  so  care- 
fully worked  out  as  greatly  to  simplify  his  own  labor. 
Such  a  docket  will  show,  for  example,  that  Peter  Jones 
died  from  a  bullet  wound,  at  such  a  place  and  hour, 
and  that  John  Doe  and  Richard  Roe,  arrested  at  such 


302  Justice  to  All 

a  place  and  hour,  are  held  on  charge  of  murder.  Then 
follow  the  names  of  those  conducting  the  post-mortem ; 
the  name  of  the  official  who  conducted  the  hearing; 
the  habeas  corpus  record;  the  list  and  description  of 
exhibits;  the  name  of  the  State  Police  officer  who 
operated  the  case  and  who  compiled  the  evidence,  and 
that  of  the  captain  under  whose  direction  he  acted; 
the  names  of  the  witnesses;  and  finally,  the  stenographic 
report  of  the  statement  of  each  witness  implicated. 

In  this  docket  only  facts  admissible  as  evidence  are 
presented  as  evidence,  and  these  facts  are  skillfully 
tabulated.  Only  persons  competent  to  testify  are 
listed  as  witnesses,  and  these  witnesses  are  duly  on  hand 
as  wanted.  When,  therefore,  the  district  attorney 
begins  to  try  the  case,  he  simply  goes  over  the  docket 
and  calls  the  witnesses  as  listed.  He  already  knows 
what  they  are  going  to  say,  and  if  they  omit  anything, 
or  alter  their  statements,  he  can  refresh  his  memory — 
or  theirs,  if  he  likes — -by  the  paper  before  him.  And 
many  are  the  district  attorneys  of  the  State  who  pro- 
claim with  fervor  the  lightening  of  their  labors  and 
the  extension  of  the  powers  of  their  own  office  by  the 
able  assistance  of  the  Force. x 

The  State  Police  would  prefer  to  have  a  case  "nolle- 
prossed"  rather  than  to  bring  it  into  court  without 

1 A  recent  request  for  an  opinion  on  the  value  of  the  State  Police  as 
cooperative  with  county  officers  and  as  related  to  the  general  welfare  of 
the  people,  addressed  to  the  district  attorneys  of  the  sixty-seven  coun- 
ties of  Pennsylvania  has  elicited  the  following  response: 

Forty-nine  district  attorneys  enthusiastically  endorse  the  Force  and 
record  themselves  as  emphatically  desirous  of  seeing  its  size  at  least 
doubled  in  the  immediate  future.  Four  district  attorneys  either  dis- 
approve of  the  Force  or  profess  ignorance  of  its  workings.  In  eight 
counties  whose  district  attorneys  have  not  replied  to  the  enquiry,  sheriff, 
county  controllers  or  county  commissioners  warmly  endorse  the  Force. 
Six  counties  remain  unheard  from  at  this  writing. 


Foundations  of  Rock  303 

sufficient  evidence;  for  cases  tried  without  securing 
conviction  bring  costs  upon  the  county  without  effecting 
any  good  result.  The  cleverer  of  the  criminal  class  are 
themselves  familiar  with  the  law  and  fight  points  very 
closely.  If  such  men  win  their  cases,  they  feel  them- 
selves covered  with  glory,  and  they  and  all  their  sort 
are  further  encouraged  to  crime.  Conversely,  the 
knowledge  to-day  current  among  these  people,  that,  if 
the  case  against  a  man  has  been  prepared  by  the  State 
Police,  no  loophole  remains  for  escape,  is  of  immense 
value  to  the  State  because  of  the  moral  effect  upon  the 
underworld  at  large. 

In  the  Troop  school,  with  the  general  teaching  of 
the  law,  the  Force  is  taught  how  to  present  all  the  essen- 
tials of  a  case  as  a  continuous  story.  With  this,  the 
men  are  trained  never,  under  any  circumstances,  to 
bolster  up  a  case,  and  never,  whatever  the  circumstances, 
either  to  show  or  to  be  inwardly  influenced  by  personal 
hostility  toward  the  prisoner.  This  attitude,  also, 
contributes  greatly  to  the  Nemesis-like  effect  of  their 
name.  And  how  unwaveringly  the  attitude  is  main- 
tained may  be  learned  with  final  authority  from  the 
judges  of  the  county  courts  most  frequently  considering 
State  Police  cases. z 

Among  the  men  who  have  left  the  Force  for  private 
life,  some  are  now  barristers  by  profession ;  and  one — a 
former  regular  army  sergeant-major  who  joined  the 
Force  in  1905 — has  become  a  member  of  the  bar  while 
still  remaining  an  officer  of  the  State  Police. 

1  See  Appendix  D. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

SUBSTATION  AND  PATROL 

EXCEPTING  on  some  unusual  occasion  of  stress,  a 
certain  number  of  men — twenty  or  so — are  held  at  all 
times  in  each  Troop  barracks  as  a  reserve  to  meet  such 
extra  needs  as  may  arise.  The  remainder  of  the  troop- 
ers are  out  on  special  duty  or  on  substations. 

The  barracks  reserve,  in  the  little  time  that  remains 
free  from  calls,  patrol-riding,  and  class- work,  does  any- 
thing and  everything  about  the  place  that  needs  doing. 
Grading,  plumbing,  white  washing  stables,  odd  jobs  of 
construction  or  repair,  to  all  alike  the  troopers  turn 
their  hands.  And  those  things  are  few  that  some 
member  of  the  Troop  cannot  manage. 

Every  man  but  the  captain  and  the  lieutenant  takes 
care  of  his  own  horse  and  equipment.  Every  man  has 
his  stable  suit  and  does  his  turn  at  stable  duty.  Even 
though  a  trooper  has  ridden  fifty  miles  to  barracks  and 
drops  off  his  saddle  frozen  and  starved,  he  must  groom 
his  horse  before  he  looks  after  his  own  necessities. 
"Must,"  it  is  said;  yet  not  a  member  of  the  Force 
could  comfort  himself  while  he  knew  that  his  horse 
lacked  comfort.  And  the  horses  show  it, — show  it  not 
only  in  their  silky  coats  and  their  clean,  smooth  legs, 
but  in  their  wise  and  gentle,  their  lovely  and  speaking 
eyes. 

The  substation  system,  inaugurated  early  in  the 
Force's  history,  underwent  some  development  through 

304 


Substation  and  Patrol  305 

experiment  and  experience  before  settling  into  perma- 
nent form.  When  substations  are  to  be  freshly  assigned 
from  any  Troop,  there  are  always  many  more  applica- 
tions from  needy  localities  than  the  size  of  the  Troop 
can  supply.  The  possible  territorial  range  is  therefore 
carefully  considered,  with  the  relative  needs  of  the 
various  sections  thereof,  and  at  those  points  most  suffer- 
ing from  disorder  substations  are  fixed. 

Wherever  it  is  possible,  the  substation  is  established 
in  a  good  private  house,  rather  than  in  a  hotel,  as  in 
this  way  the  men  are  at  once  brought  into  contact 
with  the  more  responsible  citizens.  Sometimes  the 
village  doctor  has  room  for  three  men,  with  space  in 
his  stable  for  their  mounts.  Sometimes  it  is  the  post- 
master who  offers  the  necessary  accommodation.  And 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  think  of  one  comely  old  house  that  has 
sat  for  a  hundred  years  on  the  banks  of  a  western 
river.  On  the  walls  of  the  high-panelled  parlor  hang 
the  portraits  of  the  New  England  poets,  side  by  side 
with  two  Civil  War  commissions  signed  by  Mr.  Lincoln 
in  behalf  of  the  now  aged  and  invalid  master  of  the 
house.  That  charming  and  vivacious  old  lady,  the 
mistress,  talking  of  books  old  and  new,  of  politics  and 
modern  issues,  chanced  to  remark  in  passing,  without  a 
sigh,  that  of  late  years  it  had  been  necessary  for  her 
to  eke  out  a  slender  income  by  renting  two  of  her  rooms 
to  lodgers. 

"But  now,"  said  she,  "I  have  the  substation  of  the 
State  Police/' 

"And  how  do  you  like  it?" 

Strange  to  relate,  her  bright  brown  eyes  suddenly 
filled  with  tears.  ' '  If  you  only  knew ! ' '  she  said  softly — 
"if  you  only  knew  the  difference!  I  have  always  been 
fortunate  in  having  nice  men,  but  these — these  are  so 

20 


306  Justice  to  All 

quiet,  so  mannerly,  so  considerate,  so  good  to  my  hus- 
band and  to  me — why,  these  are  Christian  gentlemen!" 

Rather  quaint?  But  a  very  serious  matter  to  two 
simple  country  gentlefolk  in  the  evening  of  their  days, 
and  a  very  eloquent  matter  as  to  the  inner  mind  of 
three  strapping  young  soldiers  whose  life,  coming  and 
going,  day  and  night,  is  the  hardest  life  there  is. 

A  substation  detail  commonly  consists  of  a  non- 
commissioned officer,  responsible  for  the  station,  and 
two  enlisted  men.  A  glance  into  the  mathematically 
orderly  room  that  houses  it  will  show,  besides  the  three 
army  cots  whose  bedding  lies  as  square  as  if  sawed  out 
of  marble,  and  the  few  other  articles  of  furniture,  a 
telephone  and  a  desk.  In  attendance  upon  the  tele- 
phone one  man  always  waits.  The  other  two  patrol 
the  roads,  according  to  a  plan  carefully  mapped  out 
at  the  beginning. 

Radiating  regularly  from  the  home  centre  just  as 
the  petals  of  a  daisy  radiate  from  the  daisy's  heart, 
regular  loops  of  patrol  route  are  laid  out  on  the  map. 
Each  loop  measures  about  twenty-five  miles,  from  start 
to  finish.  Taken  in  conjunction  with  its  opposite  loop, 
it  therefore  shows  the  patrol  system  from  this  centre  as 
covering  a  circle  twenty-five  miles  in  diameter.  Each 
loop,  as  drawn  on  the  map,  is  marked  with  the  name, 
number,  and  position  of  each  telephone  subscriber 
living  along  that  route.  And  it  is  arranged  with  each 
subscriber  that  on  receipt  of  a  request  from  the  sub- 
station he  will  instantly  hang  out  a  signal  at  his  house. 

By  this  means,  when  the  man  sitting  at  the  telephone 
receives  from  Farmer  Brown  a  call  to  arrest  trespassers 
on  his  land,  or  from  Mrs.  Barnes  the  word  that  her  little 
girl  is  lost,  he  immediately  looks  at  his  watch  to  deter- 
mine where  the  trooper  nearest  to  the  point  of  need  is 


Substation  and  Patrol  307 

at  that  moment  riding,  and  at  the  map  to  see  what 
telephone  he  should  next  pass.  He  then  calls  up  that 
telephone,  and  asks  that  the  signal  be  displayed.  The 
trooper,  riding  by,  sees  the  signal,  runs  in,  calls  up  the 
substation,  gets  his  orders,  and  is  forthwith  off  cross- 
country to  the  rescue  of  the  man  that  needs  him. 

The  patrols  seldom  ride  the  same  route  or  the  same 
way,  two  days  in  succession.  Therefore  no  one  can 
count  on  their  being  absent  at  any  given  hour.  But 
the  officer  at  the  telephone  knows  always  where  the 
patrolmen  are  and  can  therefore  divert  their  courses 
with  speed  whenever  necessary.  Each  substation 
cooperates  with  the  substation  adjoining,  if  such  there 
be,  and  each  is  in  constant  communication  with  its 
Troop  commander. 

For  ordinary  observation  patrol,  the  men  ride  singly, 
but  in  case  of  special  emergency  two  men,  when  possible, 
are  sent  together,  not  only  to  support  each  other, 
but  in  order  that,  in  case  of  the  later  arising  of  a  question 
of  veracity,  the  trooper  may  have  a  witness  to  produce. 

Between  forty  and  fifty  substations  are  established 
each  normal  year  and  are  maintained  as  long  as  the 
year's  appropriation  permits.  But  a  given  detail,  as  a 
rule,  is  not  kept  on  any  one  station  for  more  than  three 
months  at  a  time.  This  is  partly  as  a  measure  of  fair- 
ness, in  that  some  substations  are  pleasanter  than 
others,  partly  lest  the  men  should  contract  local  sym- 
pathies or  prejudices  that  might  insensibly  color  their 
attitude.  If,  therefore,  it  is  deemed  necessary  to  main- 
tain a  substation  for  longer  than  the  three-month 
period,  the  personnel  is  changed. 

When  the  policy  of  periodic  change  of  substation 
personnel  was  at  first  noticed,  some  public  question 
was  raised -as  to  the  possibility  of  men  so  frequently  new 


308  Justice  to  All 

to  their  locality  acquiring  a  sufficient  working  know- 
ledge of  the  topography  of  the  place. 

"Take  the  good  old  local  constable,"  these  questioners 
babbled  on,  "  he  knows  every  little  path  and  thicket,  because 
he  went  fishing  that  way  when  he  was  a  boy.  He  knows 
all  the  ne'er-do-wells  and  their  habits,  where  they  go  and 
what  they  do,  who  their  friends  are,  and  how  to  find  them. 
He  knew  them  when  they  were  boys.  They  are  all  his 
cousins  or  his  wife's  relations.  He's  your  man  for  the  job. 
He's  your  real  sleuth." 

Now,  apart  from  the  involuntarily  comic  side  of 
this  view — for,  incredible  as  it  seems,  the  idea  was 
seriously  advanced — one  defect  of  perception  was  here 
involved  that  a  thinking  man  might  briefly  suffer. 
This  was  the  failure  to  take  into  account  the  peculiar 
character  and  antecedents  of  the  men  composing  the 
State  Police  Force.  Had  they  been  recruited  from 
among  city-dwellers,  from  among  any  class  other  than 
that  from  which  they  came,  the  objection  indeed  might 
have  held.  But  almost  every  member  of  the  State 
Police  Force  has  behind  him  years  of  experience  in 
forest,  plain,  and  jungle,  in  strange  countries  and 
remote  fastnesses,  where  his  life  and  perhaps  the 
lives  of  his  comrades  have  rested  on  his  own  skill  as  a 
scout. 

Such  a  man,  trained  of  eye  and  brain  until  he  pos- 
sesses a  veritable  sixth  sense  of  orientation  and  topo- 
graphy, needs  but  the  briefest  experience  to  grasp  his 
terrain  more  completely  than  the  average  parishioner 
would  grasp  it  in  a  lifetime's  residence.  Here,  again, 
shines  forth  the  Superintendent's  wisdom  and  economy 
in  choosing  the  personnel  of  the  Police  from  that  picked 


Substation  and  Patrol  309 

company  that  the  Federal  War  Department  has  already 
trained  and  tried  under  many  skies  and  formally 
stamped  with  its  high  guarantee. 

The  network  of  patrol  over  country  districts  has  a 
strong  preventive  effect,  visible  in  countless  ways. 
For  example,  the  patrols  very  quickly  learn  the  regular 
denizens  of  their  radius.  If,  then,  they  meet  a  dubious- 
looking  stranger  on  the  road,  they  rein  up  and  question 
him. 

"Where  do  you  come  from?"  "Where  do  you 
work  ? ' '  "  Where  are  you  going  ?  ' '  And  if  the  stranger 
has  meant  any  harm  to  anyone,  it  is  most  unlikely 
that,  marked  and  considered  as  he  now  knows  himself 
to  be,  he  will  pursue  his  purpose  still. 

The  trained  intelligence  of  the  trooper,  his  trained 
eye  skilled  to  grasp  the  stigmata  of  wayward  minds 
and  lives,  detect  signs  of  warning  where  the  ordinary 
observer  would  see  nothing  of  note.  Frequently,  when 
occupied  on  very  different  errands,  he  will  see  and 
arrest  a  criminal  who  has  been  "wanted,"  perhaps  in 
another  State,  for  years. 

"How  did  you  happen  to  notice  the  fellow?  Was  he 
doing  anything  suspicious?"  someone  asks. 

"Oh,  no,  but  he  didn't  look  good  to  me  and  I  thought 
I  remembered  the  face,  so  I  kept  him  in  mind  till  I 
could  get  another  glance  into  our  Rogues'  Gallery. 
Then  I  knew." 

The  Greensburg  Tribune  gives  in  its  daily  news  a 
characteristic  story  that  was  enacted  on  September 

25, 1915. 

Advices  just  received  from  Burgettstown,  Washing- 
ton County,  it  relates,  tell  of  the  arrest  of  two  yeggmen 
by  Troopers  McPherson  and  Conrad  of  the  Burgetts- 
town Substation. 


310  Justice  to  All 

Fred  Tara,  white,  and  Christ  Henderson,  colored,  both 
of  whom  have  penitentiary  and  rogue's  gallery  records, 
are  now  in  jail,  under  $5000  bail  each.  The  men  are  two 
of  the  most  disgusted  prisoners  ever  placed  in  the  Washing- 
ton County  jail.  Troopers  Conrad  and  McPherson,  as  well 
as  other  members  of  the  Troop,  are  jubilant  over  the  capture. 

The  two  State  Policemen  on  Saturday  rode  out  from 
Burgettstown,  making  their  patrol  to  Langloth  [in  pair 
because  conditions  promised  need  in  that  direction].  In 
making  their  rounds  the  troopers  noticed  a  strange  white 
man  and  a  negro  whom  they  considered  suspicious.  The 
troopers  returned  to  Burgettstown,  got  into  civilian  clothes, 
and  returned  to  Langloth.  There  they  shadowed  the  two 
strangers  all  afternoon  until  late  in  the  evening,  when  they 
followed  them  to  the  store  of  Nick  Capozzala.  There  the 
white  man  and  the  negro  hid  in  the  long  grass  under  an  apple 
tree,  where  they  had  a  good  view  of  the  front  of  the  store. 

The  troopers  also  concealed  themselves  in  the  grass 
nearby,  watching  the  strangers  as  well  as  the  store.  Finally 
the  negro  and  his  companion  left  their  places  under  the  tree 
and  entered  the  store.  The  negro  asked  for  a  pie.  While 
the  clerk  was,  wrapping  it  up,  the  white  man  suddenly 
drew  a  huge  Belgian  revolver  and  commanded  the  three 
persons  in  the  store  to  throw  up  their  hands.  The  negro 
vaulted  over  the  counter  and  was  busy  at  the  money  drawer. 
At  that  minute  the  troopers  entered  the  store  and  trained 
their  guns  on  the  astonished  robbers. 

At  a  sharp  command  the  yeggmen  threw  their  hands  in 
the  air  and  were  securely  handcuffed  by  Troopers  Conrad 
and  McPherson.  They  were  taken  to  Washington  and 
placed  in  jail.  Both  men  were  armed  and  large  bunches  of 
skeleton  keys  were  found  in  their  clothes.  Both  men 
spoke  openly  of  their  disgust  at  being  captured  with  so 
much  ease. 

To-day,  the  farmers  themselves,  finding  the  alacritous 
response  that  their  communications  meet,  are  wide 


Substation  and  Patrol  311 

awake  to  the  advantages  of  cooperation.  When  Mrs. 
Allen,  alone  in  her  house,  looks  up  from  her  bread 
kneading  to  see  a  half -whining,  half -threatening  tramp 
standing  in  her  door,  who  looks  about  him  very  sharply 
while  she  gives  him  the  food  he  demands,  she  no  longer 
trembles  helplessly  all  day  long  and  then  gives  her 
husband  a  nervous  night. 

Instead  she  takes  down  her  telephone  the  moment 
the  tramp  is  out  of  hearing,  and  reports  her  visitor  to 
the  officer  at  the  substation,  comfortably  sure  that  the 
knave's  career  in  that  locality  will  be  brought  to  a 
sudden  close  forthwith. 

When  any  stranger  appears  in  a  little  village  or 
at  an  isolated  home,  whose  looks  or  whose  errand  seem 
suspicious,  the  observer  no  longer  waits  for  confirmation 
of  his  doubts  but  telephones  them  at  once  to  the  sub- 
station officer.  And  the  substation,  receiving  each  day 
many  calls  of  this  sort,  becomes  a  centre  in  which  frag- 
ments of  fact  find  their  mates  and  build  up  serviceable 
units. 

Thus,  at  two  o'clock  on  a  certain  black  night  in 
June,  Sergeant  Jacobs  at  Monessen  Substation  was 
called  up  by  a  farmer  living  over  near  Belle  Vernon 
with  the  news  that  two  negroes  had  just  tried  to  enter 
his  chicken  house,  and  that  he  had  shot  at  them  and 
driven  them  away.  Instantly  two  troopers  sprang 
out  of  their  beds,  saddled,  and  were  off.  On  the  road 
to  Belle  Vernon,  they  met  a  wayfarer,  investigated 
him,  found  that  he  was  one  of  the  men  wanted  and 
that  he  was  hurt.  So  they  took  him  first  to  a  doctor 
and  then  properly  disposed  of  him. 

Meantime,  Sergeant  Jacobs  had  received  another 
communication.  Someone  near  Webster,  six  miles  or 
so  to  the  north,  reported  a  strange  and  suspicious 


312  Justice  to  All 

negro,  suffering  from  some  wound,  seen  on  the  railway 
track. 

"Chickens?"  mused  the  sergeant,  as  he  reached  for 
his  hat. 

Then  he,  too,  rode  out,  picked  up  what  proved  indeed 
to  be  the  second  thief,  and  took  him  to  hospital.  Both 
men  pleaded  guilty  to  the  charge  of  larceny  and  were 
duly  punished  by  law. 

Shenandoah  is  a  mining  town,  largely  foreign  in 
population,  situated  in  "C"  Troop's  territory.  The 
Pottsville  Republican  prints  the  following  news  item 
of  an  incident  of  the  daily  patrol  work  in  that  locality: 

State  Policeman  Grant  Humer  to-day  saved  the  lives  of 
the  three  children  of  John  G.  Gouyla,  of  Colorado,  near 
Shenandoah,  from  cremation  when  the  Gouyla  home 
caught  fire  during  the  mother's  absence. 

When  the  woman  discovered  the  State  Policeman  who 
was  patrolling  nearby,  after  telling  him  of  the  children's 
peril,  she  collapsed. 

Humer  groped  his  way  upstairs  in  blinding  smoke  and 
intense  heat  and  rescued  the  children  at  the  risk  of  his  own 
life. 

The  house  and  its  contents  were  totally  destroyed. 
Loss  $2000.  No  insurance. 

The  very  next  day  after  the  occurrence  of  this  rescue, 
another  "C"  Troop  patrol  fought  for  other  lives 
against  another  element.  The  Philadelphia  North 
American  thus  reported  the  incident: 

Laura  E.  Shartt,  19  years  old,  and  her  sister  Florence,  16, 
are  alive  to-night  only  because  Private  W.  K.  Keely,  of 
Troop  "C, "  State  Police,  chanced  to  pass  along  the  shore 
of  the  Conodoguinet  creek,  just  as  the  girls'  canoe  capsized. 

Keely  first  rescued  the  elder  girl  and  took  her  to  shore. 


Substation  and  Patrol  313 

Then  he  went  back  for  Florence,  who  had  disappeared. 
She  had  sunk  twice  when  he  grabbed  her  as  she  made  her 
second  appearance.  Florence  was  unconscious  and  the 
policeman  carried  her  a  mile  to  West  Fairview,  where 
medical  attendance  was  obtained. 

The  creek  is  very  deep  at  that  point  and  many  drownings 
have  occurred  there  in  the  past. 


Again,  as  an  example  out  of  many  thousand,  an  "A" 
Troop  patrol,  riding  by  the  village  of  Hannistown,  one 
June  day,  learned  that  a  little  Polish  lad  had  been 
wandering  around  that  place  apparently  lost.  The 
trooper  at  once  hunted  out  the  child  and  found  him  in 
the  hands  of  women  who  had  picked  him  up  and  were 
caring  for  him.  Questioning  the  stray,  the  officer 
was  able  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  he  probably 
came  from  Greenwald.  On  the  way  to  Greenwald, 
he  learned  that  men  were  dragging  a  certain  reservoir  in 
that  vicinity  for  a  boy  supposed  to  be  drowned.  Con- 
necting the  two,  and  finding  the  connection  just,  the 
trooper  was  able  without  further  delay  to  restore 
little  Tony  Sloma  to  his  parents. 

A  trained  man  riding  the  country  roads  with  his 
eyes  wide  open  and  anxious  to  see  all  that  there  is  to  be 
seen,  can  and  will  find  a  host  of  odds  and  ends  by  the 
wayside,  whose  sum  means  much  to  the  community 
by  the  end  of  the  day.  Again  and  again  have  the 
Force's  patrols  discovered  fires  in  farmers'  homes  and 
put  them  out,  while  all  the  farmers'  people  were  off  in 
the  fields.  Again  and  again  has  the  knowledge  of 
first  aid  and  of  physiology  that  every  trooper  possesses 
stood  between  death  and  some  sufferer  by  the  roadside 
or  some  inmate  of  an  isolated  house  upon  his  route. 

"The  cows  are  in  the  corn!"  is  a  panic  cry  to  the 


314  Justice  to  All 

man  whose  cornfield  means  half  his  livelihood.  When 
a  State  Police  patrol  sees  the  corn  stirring  when  it 
should  not  stir,  he  finds  out  why  it  stirs.  If  the  cows 
are  responsible,  he  first  drives  them  out  and  then  tells 
the  farmer  about  his  fence.  If,  as  sometimes  happens, 
the  swaying  stalks  mean  the  presence  of  some  rascal 
biding  his  time  in  hiding,  those  rascally  plans  are  upset 
on  the  spot. 

"What  kind  of  police  do  they  have  around  here?" 
casually  enquires  the  yeggman  just  dropped  off  the  train 
at  a  country  village. 

If  the  answer  is:  "State  Troopers,"  he  scarcely 
risks  leaving  the  static,  n,  but  moves  on  again  to  safer 
fields  by  the  next  freight. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

LITTLE  STORIES  OF  THE  FIELD 

IN  the  hunting  season,  a  great  amount  of  injury  is 
inflicted  upon  the  Pennsylvania  farmer  through  the 
carelessness  or  the  arrogance  of  "sportsmen"  little 
deserving  the  name.  Dogs  harry  the  sheep,  men  tramp 
over  posted  land  as  freely  as  if  the  posters  were  invisible, 
and  stray  bullets  kill  or  wound  a  great  number  of  cattle 
annually.  To  control  such  conditions  through  the 
local  constables  is  of  course  impossible;  neither  have 
game  officers  been  able  to  handle  the  grievance.  But 
with  the  coming  of  the  State  Police  into  any  locality 
all  this  is  changed. 

A  typical  incident  which  must  have  surprised  its 
victims  as  thoroughly  as  it  pleased  the  farmer  who 
saw  his  former  helplessness  ended  by  the  fixing  of  a 
substation  within  his  telephone's  reach,  occurred  as 
follows : 

W.  J.  Munce,  Jr.,  a  farmer  of  Manifold,  Washington 
County,  entertained  very  strong  objections  to  persons 
hunting  on  his  farm.  He  had  thoroughly  posted  his 
property  with  warning  and  trespass  signs,  and  for  years 
he  was  merely  laughed  at  for  his  pains.  One  late 
October  morning  he  discovered  two  men  digging  out  and 
hunting  rabbits  in  his  woods.  As  usual,  they  jeered 
at  his  orders  to  leave,  and  well  he  knew  that  even 
though  he  should  scare  them  off  they  would  be  back 
again  and  at  it  the  next  day. 

315 


316  Justice  to  All 

"Let  me  see,  now,"  said  Mr.  Munce  to  himself ,  "what 
the  boys  at  that  new  substation  will  do." 

So  he  telephoned. 

Presently  the  poachers  heard  the  light  thud  of  hoofs 
on  turf,  and,  looking  up,  saw  two  troopers  trotting 
toward  them  over  the  fields.  Says  the  Washington 
Observer's  report  : 

Figuring  that  the,officers  on  their  horses  would  be  seri- 
ously hampered  by  the  character  of  the  land,  the  two 
fugitives  led  the  chase  through  deep  ravines  and  over  many 
fences.  The  horses  of  the  State  Police,  however,  were 
equal  to  the  emergency,  lightly  vaulted  the  fences  and 
picked  their  way  through  the  scrubby  ravines  with  unerring 
steps.  After  a  chase  which  extended  for  about  three  miles, 
the  two  were  rounded  up  on  the  Quail  farm. 

The  result,  needless  to  say,  was  most  beneficial  to  the 
manners  of  the  local  poaching  talent. 

In  the  hunting  season  a  very  large  part  of  the  sub- 
stations' attention  is  specifically  devoted  to  the  farmers' 
protection  along  these  lines.  The  following  reply  to  a 
direct  personal  inquiry  as  to  how  far  this  service  is  really 
effective  may  be  taken  as  representing  the  class.  It  is 
signed  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Crawford,  secretary  of  the  Citizens' 
Protective  Association  of  Rostraver  township,  West- 
moreland County,  and  is  dated  Belle  Vernon,  Pennsyl- 
vania, January  13,  1916: 

The  Citizens'  Protective  Association  of  Rostraver  town- 
ship was  organized  to  protect  the  lands  of  its  members  from 
trespass  during  the  hunting  season,  and  has  twenty-five 
members,  all  farmers,  whose  farms  comprise  a  tract  of  about 
four  thousand  acres.  In  the  first  year  of  the  Association's 
existence,  we  endeavored  to  patrol  this  territory  with  our 
own  game  wardens,  which  we  found  to  be  very  expensive 


Little  Stories  of  the  Field  317 

and  unsatisfactory.  During  the  past  five  seasons,  we  have 
had  the  State  Police  do  the  patrolling,  for  which  the  State 
makes  no  charge,  and  their  work  has  been  so  efficient  that 
we  have  forgotten  our  hunting  season  trouble. 

So  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  Do  the  State  Police  protect 
the  farmers  from  trespass  during  the  hunting  season?" 
we,  the  members  of  this  Association,  unanimously  and 
emphatically  answer  ''Yes. "  .  .  . 

A  State  Police  such  as  we  of  Pennsylvania  have,  not 
only  protects  the  farmer  and  his  property  from  trespass 
during  the  hunting  season  but  also  gives  him  protection 
from  lawless  characters  at  all  times  and  all  seasons. 

As  has  been  said,  a  trooper  riding  on  one  errand 
keeps  always  an  open  mind  for  the  additional  chance. 
Thus  Corporal  Dearolf,  of  "B"  Troop,  Kulpmont  Sub- 
station, set  out  on  September  14,  1915,  with  a  warrant 
for  one  Paul  Kelleher,  wanted  for  burglary  committed 
in  the  other  end  of  the  State.  Kelleher's  whereabouts 
were  only  vaguely  indicated,  but  Corporal  Dearolf 
succeeded  in  finding  the  man  in  the  course  of  the  day 
in  a  place  called  Trevorton. 

As  the  State  trooper  was  leaving  Trevorton  with 
his  prisoner,  the  constable  of  that  town  casually  in- 
formed him  that  he,  the  constable,  had  arrested  a  man 
a  week  before  on  the  charge  of  larceny,  but  that  the 
thief  had  escaped  from  his  hands. 

Corporal  Dearolf  at  once  took  a  description  of  the 
fugitive,  and  on  the  way  to  jail  with  his  own  prisoner, 
saw  the  constable's  man,  recognized  him  from  the  de- 
scription, picked  him  up,  and  presently  returned  him  to 
the  constable. 

Private  Alvis  of  "A"  Troop  made  a  fuller  record  on 
the  day  when  he  started  out  to  arrest  a  burglar,  effected 
the  arrest,  and  then,  like  Corporal  Dearolf,  while  still 


3i8  Justice  to  All 

on  the  road  to  jail  with  his  first  capture  recognized  and 
picked  up  another  criminal  wanted  elsewhere  in  the 
State.  Passing  with  his  two  prisoners  through  a  hamlet 
near  his  journey's  end,  he  heard  that  an  assault  had 
just  been  committed  upon  a  little  girl  in  the  country  near 
that  place.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  he  could  lodge  his 
present  charges  in  safe  keeping,  he  turned  face,  and 
rode  back  in  haste  on  the  trail  of  the  third  miscreant. 
Before  nightfall,  that  man  also  was  Private  Alvis's 
prisoner,  and  three  important  and  unconnected  ar- 
rests stood  credited  as  one  day's  work  to  the  State 
trooper. 

In  "B"  Troop's  record  for  October  30,  1915,  it  is 
shown  that  on  that  morning  Farmer  D.  R.  McDonald 
of  Hughesville,  Lycoming  County,  telephoned  to  the 
substation  at  Muncy,  seven  or  eight  miles  away,  to 
report  that  two  horses,  a  black  and  a  roan,  had  been 
stolen  from  his  barn  during  the  previous  night.  Pri- 
vates Robert  Ammon  and  Elaine  G.  Walters  of  the 
Muncy  detail  went  at  once  to  Mr.  McDonald's  farm. 
From  there  they  began  a  hunt,  which  soon  developed 
the  fact  that  two  horses  answering  the  farmer's  de- 
scription had  already  been  shipped  from  Muncy  to 
persons  in  Olean,  New  York,  and  were  now  en  route. 

Interviewing  the  Muncy  railway  agent,  the  two 
troopers  were  informed  that  the  shipment  could  not 
be  stopped.  They  then  called  on  Inspector  Bathurst 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  explained  the  situation 
fully,  and  asked  for  the  detention  of  the  horses.  Here 
again  they  were  refused,  with  the  reiterated  statement 
that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  to  stop  the  shipment 
until  it  had  reached  its  interstate  destination. 

Private  Ammon,  nothing  daunted,  merely  continued 
to  strike  higher  and  higher  up  in  the  official  roster  of 


Little  Stories  of  the  Field  319 

the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  until  at  last  he  succeeded 
in  getting  an  order  that  stopped  the  car  containing 
the  stolen  freight  as  it  reached  Larabee's,  McKean 
County,  close  to  the  boundary  of  the  State. 

Private  Ammon  then  proceeded  with  Mr.  McDonald 
to  Larabee's,  where  the  farmer  identified  his  property. 
The  horses  were  thereupon  turned  over  to  their  owner, 
and  reshipped  to  their  home.  Their  recovery  was  thus 
effected  in  the  same  day  in  which  the  substation  was 
informed  of  their  loss. 

The  speedy  action  of  the  State  Police  in  this  matter, 
with  its  great  saving  of  effort,  costs,  time,  and  risk 
of  failure,  is  characteristic  of  all  the  work  of  the  Force. 
But  another  feature  will  also  suggest  itself  to  those  who 
have  suffered  under  comparable  conditions  without 
such  aid  to  their  rescue — At  how  many  junctures  would 
the  ordinary  county  or  borough  official,  conducting 
Farmer  McDonald's  chase,  have  turned  upon  him 
with  a  blank  face  and  the  infuriating  phrase : 

"You  see,  we  can  do  no  more;  it  is  impossible!" 

A  different  service  was  rendered  to  Lycoming  County 
when  District  Attorney  Hoagland  sent  in  a  request 
for  help  in  handling  the  illegal  liquor  traffic  about 
the  town  of  Masten.  Three  troopers  reported  to  the 
district  attorney  on  March  27th.  Having  heard  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  the  troopers  forthwith  formed 
their  own  plan.  They  secured  a  surveying  outfit, 
went  to  Masten,  and  arranged  to  board  there  while 
pursuing  supposed  work  on  a  pipe-line.  They  made 
acquaintances  in  the  town,  and  noted  several  drunken 
men  and  one  eighteen-year-old  boy  with  a  pail  of  beer. 
They  then  made  inquiries  as  to  where  beer  could  be 
purchased,  and  secured  sufficient  information  to  cause 
the  arrests  of  five  men  charged  with  violation  of  liquor 


320  Justice  to  All 

laws,  selling  without  a  license  on  Sunday,  and  kindred 
offenses. 

This  they  accomplished  in  three  days'  time,  reporting 
back  to  their  station  on  March  3Oth.  Of  the  five  pris- 
oners, one  was  discharged,  one  pleaded  guilty  and  paid 
a  fine  of  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  others  were 
sentenced  to  nine  months  in  the  penitentiary. 

A  General  Order  absolutely  forbids  any  members  of 
the  Force  to  taste  intoxicating  liquor  while  on  duty, 
and  no  exception  is  made  in  favor  of  men  seeking  evidence 
of  violation  of  the  liquor  laws.  This  regulation  compels 
officers  detailed  on  such  work  to  find  other  than  the 
easiest  means  of  making  their  observations.  But  in 
these,  as  in  all  cases  of  special  duty,  the  fact  that  only 
tried,  experienced,  and  trustworthy  men  are  sent  out 
enables  the  Troop  commanders  to  leave  to  their  men's 
judgment,  guided  by  the  circumstances  that  they 
meet,  the  choice  of  means  to  effect  their  ends. 

The  early  objections  of  borough  officials  such  as 
Constable  Sunday  to  the  coming  of  the  State  Police 
into  their  latitudes  has  given  place  to  a  realization  of 
solid  benefits  accruing  to  themselves  from  that  friendly 
vicinage.  Thus,  we  have  Constable  James  Rue,  of 
Monongahela  City,  appealing  to  the  nearby  substation 
for  essential  help.  Constable  Rue  had  attempted 
to  arrest  three  foreigners,  in  an  outlying  settlement, 
who  had  promptly  cast  him  out  of  their  house  for 
his  pains  and  had  promised  to  blow  his  head  off  if 
he  showed  his  face  again.  When,  however,  they  saw 
Sergeant  McLaughlin  and  Private  Check  escorting  the 
constable  on  a  new  visit,  they  decided  to  submit  in 
peace.  So  the  constable  got  his  prisoners,  saved  his 
head,  pocketed  his  fees  in  full,  and  was  triumphantly 
vindicated  in  the  eyes  of  black  sheep  and  white. 


Little  Stories  of  the  Field  321 

Again,  on  March  28,  1915,  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  a  member  of  the  Borough  Council  of  West 
Newton,  Westmoreland  County,  telephoned  "A" 
Troop  Headquarters  that  the  borough  police  officer, 
while  attempting  to  make  an  arrest,  had  been  assaulted 
and  brutally  beaten  by  a  gang  of  rowdies.  After  in- 
structing the  non-commissioned  officer  in  charge  of  the 
Monessen  Substation,  over  beyond,  to  send  two  mounted 
men  to  cover  the  roads  of  escape  on  that  farther  side, 
Captain  Adams  at  once  despatched  Sergeant  Price 
and  three  troopers  of  the  Headquarters  reserve  to 
West  Newton  by  automobile. 

On  arrival  the  detail  interviewed  the  police  officer, 
an  infirm  old  man,  and  found  that  his  assailants,  eight 
lusty  young  fellows,  were  the  sons  of  the  principal 
inhabitants  of  the  place.  In  spite  of  the  determined 
efforts  of  their  friends,  all  but  one  of  the  eight  were 
found  guilty  of  aggravated  assault  and  battery,  and 
sent  to  the  workhouse  for  four  months. 

A  less  usual  occurrence  was  the  request  of  the  Police 
Committee  of  the  Borough  Council  of  the  borough  of 
Connellsville,  Fayette  County,  for  a  detail  to  patrol 
and  afford  necessary  police  protection  within  that  bor- 
ough, pending  the  appointment  of  a  permanent  police 
force  to  take  the  place  of  men  dismissed  for  neglect  of 
duty.  The  detail  was  granted,  and,  greatly  to  the 
relief  of  the  citizens,  policed  the  exposed  district  for  two 
weeks  until  the  new  local  force  could  be  formed. 

Great  care,  however,  is  at  all  times  exercised  to 
discourage  local  officials  from  "lying  down"  on  their 
own  proper  work  by  getting  the  State  Police  to  do  it  for 
them.  This  is  done  both  as  a  matter  of  principle  and 
because  the  little  Force  is  actually  in  daily  receipt  of 
an  average  of  eighty  per  cent,  more  calls  than  it  is 

31 


322  Justice  to  All 

physically  possible  for  it  to  fill.  The  following  appeal 
was  addressed  to  Major  Groome  by  the  district 
attorney  of  a  northern  county,  on  August  19,  1916: 


For  some  time  I  have  endeavored  to  secure  the  establish- 
ment of  a  substation  of  troopers  here.  The  need  of  such  a 
substation  becomes  more  pressing  and  more  apparent  each 
day.  During  the  .past  year  we  have  had  some  twelve 
murders.  In  most  cases  no  one  was  apprehended.  Within 
the  past  week  we  have  had  two  murders  and  no  arrests. 
These  were  preceded  by  a  murder  some  ten  days  ago.  It 
seems  that  there  can  scarcely  be  a  county  where  your 
cooperation  is  more  imperatively  necessary.  We  feel  grate- 
ful for  past  cooperation  and  realize  that  your  full  quota  of 
men  may  not  be  available.  But  we  trust  that  you  may  be 
able  to  arrange  the  matter  as  desired. 

With  calls  such  as  these  constantly  coming  in  from 
many  directions,  and  with  the  present  necessity  of 
refusing  a  considerable  proportion  of  them  because  of 
lack  of  men,  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  there  is  small 
chance  of  indulgence  for  the  applicant  who  is  merely 
trying  to  shirk  his  own  work. 

An  intelligent  idea  of  the  ramifications  of  the  Force's 
services  through  all  classes  of  the  community  may  be 
gathered  from  an  analysis  of  the  list  of  telephoned 
appeals  received  by  any  one  of  the  four  Troops  in  the 
course  of  a  year.  In  the  year  1915,  "B"  Troop,  for 
example,  received  twelve  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
telephoned  calls  for  help.  Of  these,  a  certain  percent- 
age came  from  borough  and  county  officers,  as  alder- 
men, burgesses,  the  village  constable,,  the  district 
attorney,  the  sheriff,  justices  of  the  peace,  the  police. 
Very  large  numbers  came  from  housekeepers,  farmers, 


Little  Stories  of  the  Field  323 

laborers,  miners,  merchants;  and  for  the  rest,  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  name  a  profession  or  a  common  trade 
that  is  not  represented.  Clergy,  physicians,  grocers, 
butchers,  bakers,  engineers,  brakemen,  blacksmiths, 
plumbers,  electricians,  steamfitters,  teamsters,  car- 
penters— ninety-six  callings  in  all,  aside  from  those  of 
public  officials,  are  represented  by  the  applicants  for 
emergency  help  from  "B"  Troop,  State  Police,  within 
the  year  1915. 

When  "C"  Troop's  telephone  rings,  the  chances  are 
even  that  some  member  of  a  miner's  family  is  calling. 
Someone  has  robbed  the  house,  or  has  held  up  the  man, 
a  child  is  lost,  there  is  a  fight  or  a  fire  or  an  accident 
in  the  place,  and  the  first  thought  that  comes  to  the 
family  mind  is  to  shriek  for  the  State  Police.  Fully 
fifty  per  cent,  of  "C"  Troop's  emergency  calls  come 
from  miners  and  their  households. 

Even  the  little  children  are  steeped  in  the  idea. 
The  Pottsville  Chronicle,  on  May  n,  1915,  records  a 
common  occurrence  in  this  respect,  among  the  news 
items  of  the  day: 

A  detail  of  State  Troopers  was  rushed  to  Mount  Carbon  to- 
day when  the  frantic  children  of  Anthony  Chioba  screamed 
over  the  'phone  that  their  father  was  being  stabbed  to 
death.  He  had  been  attacked  by  Samuel  Bofino,  who 
gashed  his  face,  head,  and  neck  with  a  long  knife  and  then 
threatened  to  kill  the  entire  family.  Bofino  was  taken  into 
custody  by  the  troopers  shortly  after  three  o'clock  ...  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  after  they  had  been  called. 

Monsignor  Francis  J.  McGovern,  rector  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Patrick,  Pottsville,  and  whose  territory 
is  that  in  which  "C"  Troop  centres,  affirms  with  the 


324  Justice  to  All 

authority  of  one  who  has  presided  over  his  people  for 
more  than  twenty- three  years: 

Serious  crimes  have  been  committed  here  since  the  advent 
of  the  State  Police,  but  I  do  not  know  of  a  single  case  in 
which  the  malefactor  has  escaped  punishment.  ...  It  is 
impossible  to  describe  how  invaluable  is  their  presence  to 
the  country  districts.  .  .  .  They  have  subdued  a  great 
many  crimes  formerly  frequent  here  and  which  would  un- 
doubtedly prevail  again  were  the  Police  withdrawn  from 
us.  ...  Crimes  against  women  and  children  have  scarcely 
been  heard  of  since  the  State  Police  came.  The  most 
conclusive  testimony,  however,  is  that  of  their  neighbors — 
neighbors  around  the  barracks.  These  people  all  like  the 
State  Police  and  know  them  as  unfailing  friends.  If  a 
doctor  is  wanted  they  go  for  a  doctor;  if  a  priest  is  wanted 
they  go  for  a  priest;  if  anyone  is  lost  they  find  him;  if 
anyone  is  hurt,  they  help,  with  good-will,  wisdom,  and 
skill. 

Professor  B.  S.  Simonds,  probation  and  parole  officer 
of  this  same  county  of  Schuylkill,  narrates  with  relish 
a  picturesque  little  scene  enacted  under  his  own  eyes. 

It  was  on  the  outskirts  of  a  large  mining  settlement 
in  the  county.  A  fight  had  started  among  the  foreigners 
in  the  valley,  which  had  quickly  attracted  a  swarm  of 
interested  spectators,  so  that  presently  fully  five  hun- 
dred men  and  women  were  in  the  field  lustily  beating 
each  other  with  whatever  weapons  came  handiest. 
Bones  were  breaking,  blood  was  flowing,  shrieks  and 
brickbats  filled  the  air. 

Suddenly,  high  on  the  head  of  the  hill,  one  solitary 
State  Police  patrol  appeared.  He  reined  in  his  horse 
and  sat  for  a  second  looking  down,  as  still  as  Colleoni 
carved  against  the  sky.  Then,  drawing  his  riot- 
stick,  he  started  quietly  to  descend. 


Little  Stories  of  the  Field  325 

At  that  moment  some  one  of  the  mob  chanced  to 
look  up,  saw  the  trooper,  and  raised  a  shout:  "State 
Police!" 

The  word  worked  like  an  enchantment.  Clubs  and 
stones  dropped,  and,  like  naughty  children  caught  by 
their  nurse,  every  creature  fled  from  the  field  as  fast 
as  his  or  her  legs  could  twinkle.  The  riot  vanished,  and 
the  rioters. 

Then  the  trooper  put  up  his  stick  and  went  calmly 
on  about  his  business.  He  had  not  even  been  obliged 
to  speak,  to  lift  his  hand,  or  to  descend  the  hill. 

I  tell  you  [says  Professor  Simonds,  with  contagious 
enthusiasm]  that  you  can't  find  one  reputable  man,  woman, 
or  child  in  this  county  who  will  say  a  derogatory  word 
of  the  Force.  I  never  heard  a  criticism  of  it  worth  a  snap 
of  the  finger.  In  my  work  I  couldn't  do  without  them. 
The  Police  will  defend  the  home  of  the  poorest  in  this 
county  just  as  quickly  and  with  just  as  much  vigor  as  they 
will  the  homes  of  the  rich.  They  will  act  more  promptly, 
use  less  violence,  and  bring  a  man  into  arrest  more  easily 
than  any  other  force  known.  They  won't  club  a  man  be- 
cause he  is  drunk.  A  man  is  to  be  tried  in  this  term  of 
court  [June,  1916]  whom  they  followed  thirty-five  hundred 
miles.  And  they  got  him!  And  it  did  not  cost  the  county 
a  cent! 

There  is  no  tax  I  pay  that  I  pay  as  willingly  as  I  do  the 
few  pennies  that  go  toward  the  maintenance  of  this  splendid 
body  of  men. 

One  "criticism"  is  occasionally  advanced  concerning 
the  State  Police  which,  although  it  comes  easily  within 
Professor  Simonds's  category  of  values,  may  still  deserve 
a  word  of  notice.  It  is,  that  in  the  Force's  organization 
the  number  of  non-commissioned  officers  is  dispropor- 
tionately large  as  related  to_the  number  of  privates  in 


326  Justice  to  All 

the  Troop.  It  will  be  recalled  that  each  Troop  is  as- 
signed one  first  sergeant,  four  sergeants,  four  cor- 
porals, and  one  blacksmith  with  rank  of  corporal, 
and  that  the  present  law  gives  each  Troop  forty-five 
privates. 

Now,  the  fact  is  that  the  percentage  of  non-commis- 
sioned officers  to  privates  is  almost  exactly  that  found 
in  the  cavalry  troop  of  the  regular  army  on  war 
footing.  When  the  regular  army  troop  is  on  peace 
footing,  its  percentage  of  non-commissioned  officers 
is  much  larger  than  is  that  of  the  present  State  Police 
Troop,  for  the  reason  that  the  numerical  difference 
between  army  war  and  peace  footings  lies  almost 
exclusively  in  the  number  of  privates. 

Furthermore,  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  State  Police 
work  demands  fully  this  percentage,  for  the  good  of  the 
service.  It  needs  no  argument  to  show  that  with  the 
establishment  of  numerous  substations  at  points  con- 
siderably distant  from  Troop  headquarters,  and  with 
the  constant  despatching  of  details  on  special  service, 
it  is  imperative  that  each  substation  or  detail  shall 
be  under  the  charge  of  a  ranking  man  responsible  to 
his  captain  for  that  detachment. 

The  blacksmiths  of  the  four  Troops  are  highly  skilled 
men,  specialists,  picked  and  experienced  graduates  of 
the  farriery  branch  of  the  Army  Mounted  Service 
school  at  Fort  Riley.  The  condition  of  the  horses' 
feet  is  far  too  vital  a  matter  to  entrust  to  outside 
smiths'  hands  except  when  necessary  by  reason  of 
distance  from  home.  Also  it  is  essential  to  have  in 
each  Troop  a  member  who  can  school  the  Troop  in 
all  that  concerns  such  matters.  Thus  every  trooper 
is  taught  what  proper  care  of  his  mount's  feet  means; 
but  when  he  is  in  barracks  it  is  imperative  that  his 


Little  Stories  of  the  Field  327 

horse  be  handled  by  a  real  master  in  the  art,  who  will 
correct  any  faults  that  may  have  begun,  and  who  will 
restore  the  hoofs  to  perfect  condition.  In  order  to 
save  any  disputes  of  authority  on  points  involved  Major 
Groome  has  found  it  essential  to  enable  the  farrier  to 
impose  obedience.  For  this  reason  the  farrier  is  given 
the  grade  of  corporal. 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  whether  it  is  really 
desirable  that  all  State  Police  be  mounted.  The  answer 
admits  no  debate: 

The  Force  must  always  be  a  mounted  force,  for  char- 
acter. The  prestige  of  "the  man  on  horseback"  is 
psychological,  rooted  in  the  depths  of  the  human  mind. 
To  disregard  this  fundamental  fact  would  be  an  extrava- 
gant folly.  For  riot  duty  experience  has  proved  the 
mount  to  be  indispensable;  the  theory  that  a  mounted 
man  cannot  make  an  arrest  to  advantage  is  amateur's 
nonsense.  Again,  for  observation  patrol,  among  a 
variety  of  definite  uses,  no  other  means  of  locomotion 
equals  the  horse.  But  for  certain  emergencies,  the 
possession  of  one  or  two  high-powered  automobiles 
and  a  few  motorcycles  would  undoubtedly  increase  the 
efficiency  of  each  Troop. 

The  State,  however,  has  never  as  yet  seen  its  way 
to  incurring  these  expenses  of  equipment.  Some  of 
the  Force,  therefore,  have  provided  themselves  with 
motorcycles,  out  of  their  own  pockets,  from  their  lavish 
pay.  But  until  November,  1916,  "A"  Troop  was  the 
only  one  of  the  four  divisions  of  the  squadron  that 
possessed  a  car. 

A  Western  Pennsylvania  newspaper  once  offered  a 
Studebaker  touring  car  as  a  prize  to  be  voted  to  the 
most  popular  organization  in  the  region.  "A"  Troop 
won  that  prize,  handsomely,  over  all  comers,  and 


328  Justice  to  All 

greatly  to  the  region's  subsequent  advantage.  As  the 
Force  moves,  not  one  minute  is  ever  wasted.  That 
which  aids  its  movements  saves  life  and  goods  and 
peace. 


CONCLUSION 

"WHAT  is  the  difference  between  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Police  and  the  North- West  Mounted  Police  of 
Canada  ?"  was  recently  asked  of  two  State  Police 
captains. 

Said  one,  wistfully:  "I  read  the  other  day  that  the 
Dominion  Government  had  spent  eighteen  thousand 
dollars  on  the  pursuit  and  capture  of  a  single  criminal 
by  the  North- West  Mounted,  who  chased  the  man  all 
over  the  world,  and  that  the  money  was  thought  well 
invested  in  upholding  the  authority  of  the  State.  What 
could  we  not  do  with  backing  relatively  as  fine  as  that! " 

Said  the  other,  proudly:  "The  difference  is,  that 
the  Canadians  have  a  guardhouse,  and  we  have  none. 
With  us,  the  best  man  goes,  on  his  first  lapse  of  conduct. 
We  know  no  such  thing  as  a  second  offense.11 

And  the  fine,  stiff  words  are  true. 

"The  best  discipline,"  Major  Groome  repeats,  "is 
that  which  is  never  in  evidence.  It  must  be  so  thor- 
ough and  lie  so  deep  that  it  has  no  need  to  show."  j 

"Major  Groome,"  said  a  sergeant  ten  years  on  the 
Force,— and,  although  no  one  heard  him  but  one  out- 
sider, he  straightened  up  as  he  spoke  as  though  the 
colors  were  marching  past, — "Major  Groome  is  a 
prince  among  men.  And  my  Captain — my  Captain  is 
like  him!" 

"The  bond  between  man  and  man,  man  and  officer, 
seems  very  close,"  observed  the  same  outsider  to  the 

329 


33°  Justice  to  All 

captain,  apart.  The  captain  turned  slowly  white,  even 
to  his  lips: 

"I  don't  think  I  could  speak  about  that,"  said  he, 
almost  unsteadily — nor  were  words  needed. 

If  you  hear  a  calumny,  a  charge,  an  imputation 
against  one  trooper,  and  tell  it  to  another,  officer  or 
man,  you  will  see  in  the  look  on  his  face,  before  the 
grave,  reserved  speech  leaves  his  lips,  that  the  thing  is  as 
deeply  personal  to  himself  as  his  own  soul.  Whatever 
touches  the  honor  of  the  Force  touches  him,  and  to  the 
very  quick;  for  the  honor  of  the  Force  is  the  honor  of 
every  man  in  it. 

It  is  ingrained  in  each  seasoned  trooper's  conscious- 
ness that  there  are  certain  things  that  every  trooper 
must  always  do;  certain  things  that  no  trooper  may 
ever  do ;  certain  lines  that  must  be  followed,  others  that 
must  be  avoided.  If  a  new  man  simply  offends  the  old 
ones,  that  is  nothing ;  they  leave  time  to  deal  with  him. 
But  if  he  transgresses  the  tradition  of  the  Force,  his 
comrades  say,  "You  must  not  do  that  again." 

If  he  persist,  having  warned  him  that  they  will 
bring  the  matter  to  the  captain's  attention,  they  proceed 
to  act  accordingly.  It  is  not  a  question  of  tale-bearing. 
It  is  a  question  of  the  precious,  untarnished  honor  of 
the  uniform  they  wear.  "Each  man  is  a  command  in 
himself,"  as  one  captain  puts  it,  and  each  man  holds 
himself  personally  responsible  for  this  priceless  trust. 

Says  another  Troop  commander:  "There  is  a  cer- 
tain spirit  among  the  men  that  compels  them,  once 
they  tackle  a  job,  to  see  it  finished  in  the  right  way. 
They  are  all  proud  of  the  results  they  achieve.  If  I 
send  a  man  out,  and  he  has  to  come  back  without 
accomplishing  all  that  he  went  for,  I  know  that  he  is 
disappointed — that  he  is  not  satisfied  with  merely 


Conclusion  331 

having  done  all  that  could  be  expected  of  him.  Once 
the  men  are  on  a  trail  they  will  keep  going  just  as  long 
as  there  is  work  to  do.  They  never  count  hours  in  the 
day  nor  days  in  the  week." 

Says  a  second  captain,  with  a  pride  that  glows 
through  his  gravity: 

"My  men  are  right  up  on  their  toes,  every  instant, 
ready  for  something  to  happen." 

And  they  know  each  other,  this  little  close-knit 
brotherhood,  so  passing  well!  "We  all  depend  on  the 
other  fellow,  every  minute,  and  go  right  up  to  the 
limit,  because  we  know  he  is  there.  When  we  get  into 
a  tight  place,  the  other  man  is  with  us, — so — well — a 
sort  of  free-masonry  springs  up  between  us,  you  see," 
a  trooper  explains. 

A  certain  officer,  he,  too,  ten  years  on  the  Force,  one 
day  observed  with  almost  tearful  sympathy  to  a  village 
constable  who  had  just  committed  an  act  of  more  than 
common  dullness: 

"Why,  you  dear  soul,  if  all  your  brains  were  nitro- 
glycerine there  wouldn't  be  enough  inside  your  head  to 
blow  your  hat  off!" 

One  who  picked  up  this  speech  carried  it  two  hundred 
miles  and  more  and  repeated  it  to  another  State  Police 
officer.  ' ' Did  Price  say  that ? ' '  asked  he.  "I  thought 
so.  Price  does  say  things  like  that.  I  served  with  him 
in  Manchuria." 

Now  if  you  should  try  to  extract  from  either  one  of 
those  men,  personally,  something  of  what  happened  in 
Manchuria,  you  would  not  get  a  word  in  a  week,  either 
as  to  himself  or  as  to  his  comrade,  for  they  of  the 
Force  will  not  betray  each  other's  secrets  to  the  public 
gaze.  But  the  War  Office  is  less  chary  of  its  knowledge. 
This  is  what  its  records  furnish  as  to  Wilson  C.  Price, 


332  Justice  to  All 

in  addition  to  the  usual  details  of  enlistments,  assign- 
ments, and  honorable  discharge — "character  excellent." 

Awarded  certificate  of  merit  "for  most;  distinguished 
gallantry  in  action  against  the  Chinese  at  City  of  Tien 
Tsin,  July  13,  1900,  digging  a  pit  and  constructing  a  tra- 
verse for  a  wounded  officer  of  his  regiment  under  a  wither- 
ing point  blank  range  fire  from  the  enemy.  The  traverse 
during  and  after  completing  was  struck  at  least  fifty  times." 
He  was  recommended  for  a  medal  of  honor. 

In  the  United  States  Army  certificates  of  merit  are 
never  awarded  for  general  meritorious  conduct,  but 
solely  for  special  acts  of  superlative  distinction,  and  are 
conferred  only  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Lieutenant  Price  is  hereby  begged  to  pardon  this 
unveiling  of  the  War  Office  record.  He  will  not  like 
it,  and  it  will  be  news  to  his  fellow  troopers.  But  he 
should  at  least  have  their  sympathy,  for  it  happens 
that  they  all  stand  in  imminent  danger  of  similar  revela- 
tions as  to  themselves. 

Meantime  one  man  is  sacrificed,  to  show  by  one  more 
light  of  what  stuff  the  Force  is  made. 

"The  dangers  that  they  face  together,  the  great  risks 
they  run,  the  odds  they  take,  all  bind  our  men  closer 
than  brothers,"  one  old  Troop  commander  observes, 
"and  the  strongest  bond  comes  from  the  severest  test  of 
courage, — that  of  enduring  abuse  without  personal 
feeling.  To  go  into  a  mob,  and  take  all  the  vilification 
that  the  hysterical  masses  can  heap  upon  their  heads, 
knowing  all  the  while  that  a  deliberate  propaganda 
of  slanderous  falsehood  is  always  active  against  them 
both  by  word  of  mouth  and  in  public  print;  to  listen 
to  the  blackest  accusations  and  invectives,  and  still 
to  remain  unmoved,  free  from  all  prejudice  or  hostility, 


Conclusion  333 

keeping  all  color  of  personal  resentment  or  retaliation 
from  their  acts  and  bearing — this  is  the  greatest  test 
of  courage  that  the  troopers  of  the  State  Police  have 
to  meet.  But  they  must  meet  it  or  leave  the  Force." 

Seeing  them  meet  this  test  and  every  other  test  of 
splendid  manhood,  daily,  yearly,  year  in  and  year  out, 
observers  from  the  world  at  large  are  continually  ap- 
proaching the  men  with  most  flattering  offers  of  ad- 
vancement, until  it  is  safe  to  say  that  not  one  seasoned 
man  on  the  Force  has  been  without  several  opportuni- 
ties almost  to  double  his  present  income  while  quit- 
ting the  risks  and  rigors  of  the  trooper's  life  for  a  life 
of  bourgeois  ease. 

"I  know  you  have  had  such  offers.  Why  have  you 
not  accepted  them?"  was  lately  asked  of  a  corporal 
with  the  prettiest  little  wife  in  the  world  to  think  of. 

"Well — I  guess  it's  the  men,  and  the  horses,"  said 
he. 

Said  she,  speaking  fast,  her  eyes  suddenly  wet  and 
beaming  over  the  curly-head  asleep  in  her  arms,  "And 
/  guess  it's  because  the  Force  is  the  finest  thing  in  the 
world  and  baby  and  I  are  too  proud  of  it!" 

"The  State's  pay  is  so  very  small — so  many  men  are 
killed  and  maimed  in  the  service — and  she  throws  them 
aside  like  rags  for  their  reward — why  do  any  of  you 
stay  in  such  ungrateful  employ  when  you  might  better 
yourselves  by  hundred  folds?"  This  time  it  was  a 
captain  who  was  asked  the  question. 

"It  is  true,"  said  he,  "that  many  men  have  given 
their  lives  in  the  service,  that  more  have  been  crippled 
beyond  recovery,  that  we  can  lay  up  little  or  nothing 
from  our  pay,  and  that  our  widows,  our  orphans, 
and  our  maimed  have  no  pension.  And  some  men 
do  leave  the  service  to  advance  themselves.  But 


334  Justice  to  All 

most  of  our  offers  come  from  corporations  to  head 
and  form  their  police  service.  A  corporation  officer 
has  to  serve  the  corporation,  right  or  wrong,  and  the 
corporation  is  quite  likely  to  ask  its  men  to  do  some 
things  that  are  not  strictly  right.  The  State  Police  is 
always  right,  because  it  upholds  the  pure  law,  without 
fear  or  favor.  And  the  habit  of  being  right  is  a  habit 
hard  to  sacrifice." 

This  book  was  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of  inquiry.  It 
ends  in  a  spirit  of  the  deepest  gratitude  and  of  the 
deepest  respect. 

What  greater  gift  can  men  bring  to  this  Nation 
smothering  in  a  fog  of  compromise,  barter,  and  timorous 
selfishness,  than  the  living  proof  that,  under  the  hardest 
conditions,  under  the  strongest  temptations,  heaped 
with  calumny  and  abuse,  at  every  personal  sacrifice 
and  risk,  without  profit,  without  encouragement, 
without  reward,  men  yet  exist  among  us  to  serve  the 
State  with  a  high  and  cheerful  heart  for  honor's  sake 
alone? 

There  are  those  on  every  hand  who  say  that  we  are  a 
degenerate  people,  that  our  good  days  are  gone,  that  a 
man  who  should  try  to  conduct  his  public  work  cleanly 
would  be  trampled  out  of  sight  in  the  first  attack  of  the 
herd. 

.  If  that  were  true,  the  time  were  indeed  come  when  the 
keepers  of  the  house  should  tremble  and  those  that 
look  out  of  the  windows  be  darkened.  But,  thanks  be 
to  God,  it  is  not  true.  The  proof  incarnate  walks  be- 
fore our  eyes,  and  in  the  Keystone  State  of  the  Union. 

There,  one  single-purposed,  fearless  man,  fighting 
the  good  fight,  keeping  the  faith,  has  not  been  trampled 
under  foot,  desperate  and  cunning  and  prolonged  as 


Conclusion  335 

the  attacks  have  been.  Neither  has  he  stood  alone. 
Instead,  by  the  sheer,  bare  beauty  of  an  austere  and 
selfless  ideal,  he  has  drawn  the  very  flower  of  the 
young  men  to  him,  eager  to  live,  or  to  die  if  need  be, 
for  simple  love  of  The  Finest  Thing  in  the  World. 

They  have  planted  the  standard  on  the  ultimate 
height.  They  have  held  it  there  with  their  hearts' 
blood,  before  all  the  world  that  has  eyes  to  see.  And 
they  have  put  it  forever  beyond  the  power  of  any 
State,  confronting  the  example  of  Pennsylvania,  either 
to  withhold  from  its  people  this  vital  blessing  except 
at  its  own  grave  risk,  or  to  offer  to  its  people  any  sort 
of  compromise,  any  less  noble  and  perfect  gift  except 
to  its  own  most  meanly  confessed,  most  glaring,  most 
inexcusable  shame. 


APPENDIX  A 

AN  ACT 

Creating  the  Department  of  State  Police;  providing  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Superintendent  thereof,  together  with  the  officers  and 
men  who  shall  constitute  the  force; — denning  their  powers  and 
duties,  and  making  an  appropriation  for  the  expenses  connected 
therewith. 

SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  &c.,  That  there  is  hereby 
created  and  established  the  Department  of  State  Police; 
the  head  of  which  shall  be  the  Superintendent  of  State 
Police,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  serve  for  a  term  of  four 
years  from  the  date  of  his  appointment,  and  who  shall 
receive  a  salary  of  three  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  to  be 
paid  quarterly  upon  warrant  of  the  Auditor-General  drawn 
on  the  State  Treasurer. 

SECTION  2.  The  Superintendent  of  State  Police  shall  be 
provided  by  the  Board  of  Public  Grounds  and  Buildings 
with  suitable  offices  at  the  Capitol,  in  Harrisburg,  and  shall 
give  a  bond  to  the  Commonwealth,  in  the  sum  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties. 
He  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  deputy,  at  a  salary  of  two 
thousand  dollars  per  annum ;  one  clerk,  who  shall  be  a  com- 
petent bookkeeper,  at  a  salary  of  fourteen  hundred  dollars 
per  annum,  and  a  competent  stenographer,  at  a  salary  of 
twelve  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 

SECTION  3.     He  is  also  authorized  to  appoint  the  State 

Police  Force,  which  shall  consist  of  four  companies,  or 

platoons,  each  consisting  of  a  captain,  at  a  salary  of  fifteen 

hundred  dollars  per  annum,  a  lieutenant,  at  a  salary  of 

as  337 


Appendix  A 

twelve  hundred  dollars  per  annum;  five  sergeants,  at  a 
salary  of  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  and  fifty  men,  at 
a  salary  of  seven  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  per  annum. 
No  applicant  shall  be  appointed  to  the  State  Police  until  he 
has  satisfactorily  passed  a  physical  and  mental  examination, 
based  upon  the  standard  provided  by  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  police  force  of  the  cities  of  the  first  class,  in 
addition  to  which  each  applicant  must  be  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  of  sound  constitution,  able  to  ride,  of  good 
moral  character,  and  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and 
forty  years. 

SECTION  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Superintendent  of 
State  Police  to  provide  for  the  members  of  the  Police  Force 
suitable  uniforms,  arms,  equipments,  and,  where  it  is 
deemed  necessary,  horses;  and  to  make  such  rules  and 
regulations,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Governor,  as  are 
deemed  necessary  for  the  control  and  regulation  of  the 
Police  Force.  It  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the  Superintendent 
to  establish  local  headquarters  in  various  places.  For  that 
purpose  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  do  so,  by  lease  or  other- 
wise, so  as  best  to  distribute  the  force  throughout  the 
various  sections  of  the  Commonwealth,  where  they  will  be 
most  efficient  in  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  this  act  to 
preserve  the  peace  and  to  prevent  crime. 

SECTION  5.  The  various  members  of  the  Police  Force  are 
hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  make  arrests,  without 
warrant,  for  all  violations  of  the  law  which  they  may  witness, 
and  to  serve  and  execute  warrants  issued  by  the  proper 
local  authorities.  They  are  also  authorized  and  empowered 
to  act  as  forest,  fire,  game,  and  fish  wardens;  and,  in  general, 
to  have  the  powers  and  prerogatives  conferred  by  law  upon 
members  of  the  police  force  of  cities  of  the  first  class,  or 
upon  constables  of  the  Commonwealth;  and  are  intended, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  take  the  place  of  the  police  now  ap- 
pointed at  the  request  of  the  various  corporations. 

The  State  Police  Force  shall,  wherever  possible,  cooperate 
with  the  local  authorities  in  detecting  crime,  and  apprehend- 


Appendix  A  339 

ing  criminals,  and  preserving  the  law  and  order  throughout 
the  State. 

SECTION  6.  That  the  sum  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary, 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  specifically  appropriated  to  pay 
the  salaries  and  expenses  necessary  to  carry  this  bill  into 
effect ;  the  same  to  be  paid  on  warrant  drawn  by  the  Auditor- 
General  upon  the  State  Treasurer,  out  of  moneys  in  the 
State  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

SECTION  7.  All  acts  or  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  herewith 
be  and  they  are  hereby  repealed. 

APPROVED — The  2d  day  of  May,  A.D.  1905. 

SAML.  W.  PENNYPACKER. 

The  foregoing  is  a  true  and  correct  copy  of  the  Act  of  the 
General  Assembly  No.  227. 

FRANK  M.  FULLER, 

Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


APPENDIX  B 

AN  ACT 

To  amend  sections  two  and  three  of  an  act,  entitled  "An  act  creating 
the  Department  of  State  Police;  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a 
Superintendent  thereof,  together  with  officers  and  men  who  shall 
constitute  the  force;  defining  their  powers  and  duties,  and  making 
an  appropriation  for  the  expenses  connected  therewith,"  approved 
the  second  day  of  May,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  five,  by  fixing  the  salaries  of  the  employees  of  the  Department 
of  State  Police,  also  the  salaries  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  State 
Police. 

SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  &c.,  That  section  two  of  an 
act,  entitled  "An  act  creating  the  Department  of  State 
Police;  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  Superintendent 
thereof,  together  with  the  officers  and  men  who  shall  con- 
stitute the  force;  defining  their  powers  and  duties,  and 
making  an  appropriation  for  the  expenses  connected  there- 
with, "  approved  the  second  day  of  May,  Anno  Domini 
one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  five,  which  reads  as  follows: 

"Section  2.  The  Superintendent  of  State  Police  shall  be 
provided  by  the  Board  of  Public  Grounds  and  Buildings 
with  suitable  offices  at  the  Capitol,  in  Harrisburg,  and  shall 
give  a  bond  to  the  Commonwealth  in  the  sum  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties. 
He  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  deputy,  at  a  salary  of  two 
thousand  dollars  per  annum;  one  clerk,  who  shall  be  a  com- 
petent  bookkeeper,  at  a  salary  of  fourteen  hundred  dollars 
per  annum,  and  a  competent  stenographer,  at  a  salary  of 
twelve  hundred  dollars  per  annum,"  be  and  the  same  is 
hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows : 

Section  2.  The  Superintendent  of  State  Police  shall  be 
provided  by  the  Board  of  Public  Grounds,  .and  Buildings 

340 


Appendix  B  341 

with  suitable  offices  at  the  Capitol,  in  Harrisburg,  and  shall 
give  a  bond  to  the  Commonwealth  in  the  sum  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties. 
He  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  deputy  superintendent,  at  a 
salary  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum;  one 
bookkeeper,  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per 
annum,  and  one  stenographer,  at  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred 
dollars  per  annum. 

SECTION  2.  That  section  three  of  said  act,  which  reads  as 
follows: 

"Section  3.  He  is  also  authorized  to  appoint  the  State 
Police  Force,  which  shall  consist  of  four  companies  or  pla- 
toons, each  consisting  of  a  captain,  at  a  salary  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  per  annum;  a  lieutenant,  at  a  salary  of 
twelve  hundred  dollars  per  annum ;  five  sergeants,  at  a  salary 
of  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum;  and  fifty  men,  at  a  salary 
of  seven  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  per  annum.  No  appli- 
cant shall  be  appointed  to  the  State  Police  until  he  has 
satisfactorily  passed  a  physical  and  mental  examination, 
based  upon  the  standard  provided  by  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  police  force  of  the  cities  of  the  first  class,  in  addi- 
tion to  which  each  applicant  must  be  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  of  sound  constitution,  able  to  ride,  of  good  moral 
character,  and  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  forty 
years,"  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as 
follows : 

Section  3.  He  is  also  authorized  to  appoint  the  State 
Police  Force,  which  shall  consist  of  four  troops,  each  con- 
sisting of  a  captain,  at  a  salary  of  eighteen  hundred  dollars 
per  annum;  a  lieutenant,  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
per  annum;  a  first  sergeant,  at  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred 
dollars  per  annum;  four  sergeants,  each  at  a  salary  of  eleven 
hundred  dollars  per  annum;  four  corporals,  each  at  a  salary 
of  nine  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  annum;  one  blacksmith 
with  rank  of  corporal,  at  a  salary  of  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  annum;  and  forty-five  privates,  each  at  a  salary 
of  nine  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 


342  Appendix  B 

The  members  of  the  State  Police  Force  shall  be  enlisted  for 
a  period  of  two  years;  and  each  member  of  said  State  Police 
Force  shall  receive  an  increase  in  pay  of  five  dollars  per  month 
during  a  second  continuous  enlistment,  and  an  additional 
increase  in  pay  of  five  dollars  per  month  during  a  third  con- 
tinuous enlistment. 

No  applicant  shall  be  appointed  to  the  State  Police  Force 
until  he  Jias  satisfactorily  passed  a  physical  and  mental 
examination,  basecl  upon  the  standard  provided  by  the 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  police  force  of  the  cities  of  the 
first  class;  in  addition  to  which  each  applicant  must  be  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  of  sound  constitution,  able 
to  ride,  of  good  moral  character,  and  between  the  ages  of 
twenty-one  and  forty  years. 

SECTION  3.  The  foregoing  amendments  shall  become 
effective  and  go  into  operation  on  the  first  day  of  June, 
Anno  Domini  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eleven. 

APPROVED — The  ist  day  of  June,  A.D.  1911. 

JOHN  K.  TENER. 

The  foregoing  is  a  true  and  correct  copy  of  the  Act  of  the 
General  Assembly  No.  217. 

ROBERT  McAFEE, 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


APPENDIX  C 


ARRESTS,  WITH  DISPOSITIONS,  MADE  BY  PENNSYLVANIA  STATE  POLICE 

FORCE  SINCE  ORGANIZATION,  DECEMBER  15,   1905,  TO 

DECEMBER  31,  1915 


CHARGES 


Abduction 

Abortion 

Absconding  witness 

Accessory  to  the  crime 

Adultery 

Aggravated  assault  and  battery 

Arson 

Assault  and  battery 

Attempt  to  kill 

Bigamy 

Blackmail 

Breach  of  the  peace 

Breaking  jail 

Bribery 

Burglary 

Carrying  concealed  deadly  weapons 

Cockfighting 

Concealing  death  of  bastard  child 

Conspiracy 

Contempt  of  court 

Counterfeiting 

Cruelty  to  animals 

Cruelty  to  children 

Deserter,  U.  S.  Service 

Desertion  and  non-support 

Discharging  firearms 

Disorderly  conduct 

Disorderly  house 

Disturbing  public  assembly 

Disturbing  religious  assembly 

Drunk  and  disorderly 

Dynamiting 

Embezzlement 

Enticing  female 

Escaped  Prisoner 


«o 

I 

00 

eg 

*•»» 

1 

•S 

S3 

'S 

m 

•5-3 

1 

a 

i 

15 

10 

7 

3 

— 

5 

3 

i 

I 

48 

ii 

36 

I 

92 

15 

38 

39 

82 

38 

28 

16 

641 

360 

173 

108 

89 

36 

35 

18 

2,789 

684 

518 

249 

78 

58 

4 

2 

i 

i 

52 

20 

18 

14 

63 

55 

3 

5 

16 

9 

4 

3 

2 





2 

521 

306 

137 

78 

622 

468 

75 

79 

38 

36 

2 

4 

i 

3 



213 

27 

83 

103 

II 

9 

i 

i 

14 

8 

4 

2 

162 

125 

26 

II 

II 

8 

2 

I 

3 

3 





256 

174 

35 

47 

70 

66 

4 



3,927 

3,666 

244 

17 

76 

17 

12 

6 

5 

i 



3 

3 





2,234 

2,080 

122 

32 

32 

9 

14 

9 

35 

26 

8 

I 

5 

2 

2 

i 

6 

3 



3 

Carried  forward 


13,622    10,559     1,882     1,181 


343 


344 


Appendix  C 

APPENDIX  C— (Continued) 


CHARGES 


Brought  forward 
Extortion 

Felonious  assault  and  battery 
Felonious  poisoning 
Felonious  shooting 
Felonious  use  of  dynamite 
Felonious  wounding 
Forcible  detainer 
Forcible  entry 
Forgery 

Fornication  and  bastardy 
Fortune  telling 
Fraud  and  false  pretense 
Fraudulent  use  of  mails 
Frequenting  disorderly  house 
Fugitive  from  justice 
Gambling 
Highway  robbery 
Horse  stealing 
House  breaking 
Illegal  car  riding 
Illegal  traffic  in  drugs 
Impersonating  an  officer 
Incest 

Incorrigibility 
Indecent  exposure 
Inmate  disorderly  house 
Insanity 

Interfering  with  an  officer 
Keeping  bawdy  house 
Keeping  gambling  house 
Kidnapping 
Larceny 

Larceny  by  Bailee 
Lewdness 
Malicious  mischief 
Mayhem 
Miscellaneous 
Misdemeanor 
Murder 
Nuisance 
Pandering 
Pauper 
Perjury 
Pickpocket 

Carried  forward 


1 

1 

I 

i 

1 

U 

I 

35 

13,622 

io,559 

1,882 

1,181 

6 

2 

3 

I 

272 

149 

45 

78 

I 

I 





89 

52 

23 

14 

9 

2 

6 

I 

298 

133 

93 

72 

5 

i 

4 



14 

5 

6 

3 

47 

28 

8 

ii 

218 

152 

27 

39 

i 

I 





542 

406 

82 

54 

4 

2 

2 



25 

IO 

5 

IO 

9 

9 





483 

34 

44 

139 

63 

54 

22 

83 

45 

37 

II 

173 

113 

33 

27 

133 

122 

II 



3 

2 



I 

23 

16 

3 

4 

6 

I 

5 



52 

45 

7 



80 

8 

i 

237 

194 

33 

IO 

102 

IOO 

2 



I67 

105 

36 

26 

19 

17 

2 



I 

— 



i 

7 

2 

4 

i 

2,210 

1,440 

503 

267 

7 

7 





13 

IO 

3 

— 

552 

419 

84 

49 

12 

3 

5 

4 

I67 

119 

25 

23 

47 

36 

2 

9 

396 

126 

I67 

103 

61 

42 

IO 

9 

9 

7 

2 



7 

7 

^— 



45 

9 

26 

10 

12 

4 

5 

3 

20,496  15,130  3,285    2,089 


Appendix  C 

APPENDIX  C— (Continued) 


345 


CHARGES 


Brought  forward 
Pointing  firearms 
Poisoning 
Rape 

Receiving  stolen  goods 
Reckless  driving 
Resisting  arrest 
Rioting 
Robbery 
Runaway 
Seduction 

Selling  goods  without  license 
Sending  threatening  letters 
Slander 
Sodomy 

Surety  of  the  peace 
Suspicious  character 
Threats 
Trespassing 
Trover 

Unlawful  assembly 
Unlawful  possession  of  firearms 
Unlicensed  gypsies 
Vagrancy 

Violation  of  auto  laws 
Violation  of  bail 
Violation  of  borough  ordinance 
Violation  of  election  laws 
Violation  of  fish  laws 
Violation  of  forestry  laws 
Violation  of  game  laws 
Violation  of  health  laws 
Violation  of  immigration  laws 
Violation  of  liquor  laws 
Violation  of  livery  laws 
Violation  of  medical  laws 
Violation  of  mining  laws 
Violation  of  parole 
Violation  of  postal  laws;  ' 
Violation  of  quarantine  laws 
Violation  of  revenue  laws 
Violation  of  Sabbath  laws 
Violation  of  school  laws 
Violation  of  shipping  laws 
Wife  beating 
Witness 

TOTAL 


1 

! 

1 

i 

<< 

0 

5 

II 

20,496 

15,130 

3,285 

2,089 

51 

38 

ii 

2 

3 

I 

2 



225 

107 

77 

41 

161 

78 

42 

25 

16 

9 

139 

88 

22 

29 

563 

255 

209 

99 

III 

68 

28 

26 

2 



6 

3 

—  +. 

3 

64 

61 

3 

5 

4 

i 



28 

25 



3 

8 

2 

6 

2 

599 

456 

82 

61 

241 

67 

172 

2 

250 

135 

53 

62 

985 

844 

102 

39 

2 

2 





5 

5 

— 



244 

228 

13 

3 

13 

13 





709 

647 

61 

i 

281 

254 

18 

9 

21 

17 



4 

12 

ii 

I 



27 



24 

3 

438 

50 

26 

18 

15 

3 



456 

397 

33 

26 

14 

13 



i 

9 

9 





647 

405 

137 

105 

40 

35 

2 

3 

4 

2 

I 

I 

20 

18 



2 

10 

9 

I 



2 

2 





3 

3 





i 





I 

295 

294 

I 



50 

40 

IO 



2 



2 



2 

I 

I 



90 

24 

25 

41 

27,660  20,321   4,571    2,768 


Appendix  C 


Eighty-two  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  arrests  made  resulted  in  con- 
victions. 

Following  is  number  of  miles  traveled  each  year,  March  i,  1906, 
to  December  31,  1915. 

Year  Mileage 

1906  65,000 

1907  332,094 

1908  423,715 

1909  407,916 

1910  389,805 

1911  531,355 

1912  491,398 

1913  645,198 

1914  592,031 

1915  667,882 

TOTAL1         4,546,394 


APPENDIX  D 

Statements  of  the  Bench,  given  in  response  to  the  author's 
request  for  an  opinion  on  the  relation  of  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Police  Force  to  the  Courts  and  to  the  general  wel- 
fare of  the  Commonwealth;  no  divergent  opinions  were 
rendered: 

HONORABLE  WILLIAM  P.  POTTER, 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania. 

September  14, 1916. 

I  can  testify  to  the  great  value  to  the  people  of  Pennsyl- 
vania of  the  State  Constabulary.  They  constitute  a  very 
efficient  police  force,  and  one  which  is,  I  think,  satisfactory 
to  every  one.  In  this  statement  I  perhaps  cannot  include 
the  criminal  class  and  the  evildoers,  but  I  think  that 
I  may  say  that  even  to  them  the  State  Constabulary  are 
more  satisfactory  than  any  ordinary  officers  of  the  law 
could  be.  They  are  trained  men,  who  use  good  judgment, 
and  do  not,  therefore,  make  use  of  any  more  force  in  main- 
taining order  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Over  and  over 
again  the  members  of  the  Troops  have  demonstrated  their 
capacity  and  value.  I  wish  that  we  could  have  a  force 
large  enough  to  permit  of  at  least  two  members  being 
stationed  in  every  township  throughout  the  rural  districts 
of  the  State.  Such  an  apportionment  would  do  more  to 
prevent  crime,  preserve  law  and  order,  and  insure  the 
safety  of  women  and  children  throughout  the  rural  districts 
than  any  provision  of  which  I  know.  In  my  judgment, 
the  membership  of  our  State  Constabulary  should  be 
increased  at  least  fourfold. 

347 


348  Appendix  D 

HONORABLE  HENRY  A.  FULLER  (Republican), 

President  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Luzerne 

County. 

June  17, 1916. 

In  Pennsylvania  the  State  Police  are  absolutely  indis- 
pensable. We  could  not  possibly  get  along  without  them. 

HONORABLE  SELIGMAN  J.  STRAUSS  (Democrat), 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Luzerne  County. 

July  28, 1916. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  good,  organized  State 
Police,  that  has  no  local  relation  to  the  questions  that  arise 
from  time  to  time  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  is  a  very 
excellent  means  for  maintaining  order.  My  observation 
is  that  the  men  who  have  gotten  into  our  State  Police 
Force  are  efficient  not  only  in  the  suppression  of  general 
disorder  but  also  in  detective  work  and  in  bringing  to  justice 
certain  classes  of  crime  which  are  difficult  to  trace  and 
bring  to  conviction.  The  local  authorities  very  seldom 
have  either  the  capacity  or  the  time  to  give  to  these  matters 
the  attention  they  require. 

My  experience  is  that  the  State  Police  do  their  work  well. 
They  prepare  their  cases  intelligently,  they  get  the  wit- 
nesses, and  they  work  without  personal  feeling.  Generally 
they  do  not  bring  a  man  into  court  unless  they  can  prove 
their  case.  They  earn  their  salaries,  and  they  are  not  paid 
on  any  fee  system,  which  is  an  advantage  that  they  have 
over  constables. 

They  help  the  District  Attorney;  he  has  occasionally 
called  upon  them  to  get  evidence. 

They  help  the  Sheriff;  theoretically,  the  Sheriff  has 
the  right  to  summon  every  able-bodied  man  to  help  him 
maintain  the  peace;  practically,  that  does  not  work  out  at 
all.  Such  service  is  no  one's  specific  business.  But  the 
Sheriff,  calling  on  the  State  Police,  gets  practised  and 
efficient  assistance  as  a  matter  of  course. 


Appendix  D  349 

I  have  heard  criticism  of  the  system  to  the  effect  that 
it  is  militaristic;  that  each  little  community  should  depend 
upon  its  own  constables  and  that  a  county  should  depend 
upon  its  own  citizens  to  maintain  order.  But  we  know  that 
these  means  cannot  be  depended  upon  at  all.  Many  con- 
stables are  influenced  by  local  conditions,  which  prevent 
them  from  becoming  prosecutors;  sometimes  their  sympa- 
thies are  with  the  very  men  who  should  be  prosecuted. 
Therefore,  a  body  of  men  who  are  without  personal  feeling 
in  the  matter  and  who  simply  represent  the  organized 
force  of  the  Commonwealth  to  maintain  the  law,  is  a  good 
thing. 

HONORABLE  PETER  A.  O'BOYLE  (Democrat), 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Luzerne  County. 

August  22,  1916. 

The  State  Police  are  rendering  splendid  service  here. 

Whoever  may  object  to  them,  their  work  speaks  for  them. 
And  the  original  opposition  has  been  worn  away  by  their 
actual  service  to  the  communities  in  which  they  exist  or 
into  which  they  have  been  called — worn  away  except  in 
those  quarters  where  efficiency  in  enforcing  observance  of 
the  law  itself  constitutes  an  offense. 

In  Court  they  have  always  presented  their  testimony  in 
a  very  able  manner.  We  have  never  found  them  connected 
with  anything  of  a  shady  character,  and  that  is  due  to  the 
careful  selection  of  the  personnel;  they  are  a  remarkably 
high-class  body  of  men.  They  are  a  highly  trained  body, 
and  their  special  training  is  a  factor  that  makes  them  of 
great  service.  They  are  particularly  important  in  outside 
localities  where  proper  police  or  police  regulations  do  not 
exist.  They  work  very  effectively  as  detectives.  Where 
formerly  special  professional  detectives  were  employed, 
the  State  Police  now  do  the  greater  part  of  such  work.  In 
murder,  arson,  burglary,  and  robbery  cases,  in  fact  in  all 
serious  cases,  we  find  them  very  able  in  such  matters. 


350  Appendix  D 

They  are  frequently  called  upon  to  go  out  and  trace  a 
man,  bring  him  in  and  prosecute  him.  They  are  very 
careful  in  their  statements,  in  giving  their  testimony. 

I  have  never  seen  in  them  any  bias  or  endeavor — any 
over-zeal,  to  get  convictions  at  the  expense  of  exact  justice. 

HONORABLE  J.  B.  WOODWARD  (Democrat), 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Luzerne  County. 

July  26,  1916. 

The  Pennsylvania  State  Constabulary  is  the  greatest 
safeguard  to  law  and  order  in  times  of  trouble  that  we  have. 
This  has  been  demonstrated  thoroughly  many  times  at  vari- 
ous places  throughout  the  State.  In  quelling  riots,  in  detect- 
ing crime,  in  arresting  dangerous  criminals;  in  serving 
warrants  and  writs  issued  by  magistrates  on  dangerous 
characters  where  the  local  constables  are  afraid  or  unable 
to  serve  them;  in  enforcing  the  Game  and  Fish  laws  of  the 
State,  in  protecting  the  forests  against  fires,  and  in  afford- 
ing protection  to  outlying  districts  where  there  are  no  local 
police,  their  services  have  been,  invaluable.  They  have 
been  opposed  by  the  labor  unions,  but  a  short  time  ago  in 
a  clash  between  the  United  Mine  Workers  and  the  Indus- 
trial Workers  of  the  World,  who  attempted  in  a  large  body 
to  prevent  the  Mine  Workers  from  going  to  their  places  of 
work,  the  United  Mine  Workers  called  upon  and  received 
the  protection  of  the  State  Police.  In  quelling  riots,  ten 
of  these  men  are  more  effective  than  a  whole  regiment  of 
National  Guard. 

I  have  no  criticism  to  make  of  the  Force.  They  are  the 
best  body  of  men  I  know  of. 

HONORABLE  A.  M.  FREAS  (Democrat), 
President  Judge  of  the  Orphans'  Court,  Luzerne  County. 

July  18,  1916. 

I  owe  the  State  Police  a  good  deal  for  the  feeling  of 
security  that  they  give  me  by  the  mere  fact  that  they 


Appendix  D  351 

are  here — by  what  they  have  done  less  than  by  what  it 
is  known  they  will  do  if  required  to  do  it.  They  are  a 
fearless  body  of  gentlemen,  as  I  have  known  them,  who 
earn  a  good  deal  more  money  than  they  get.  The  only 
objection  to  them  is  that  of  agitators,  whose  reasons  are 
too  manifest  to  require  statement.  They  inspire  terror 
in  the  lawless  element  here  and  in  the  Black  Handers  and 
the  I.  W.  W's.  who  interchange  from  New  York  to  Pennsyl- 
vania and  from  Pennsylvania  to  New  York. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  demonstrated  that  constables 
cannot  be  depended  upon  to  make  arrests  in  cases  where 
they  are  disinclined  to  do  so  from  motives  of  personal 
interest  or  from  fear  for  themselves  or  for  their  families, 
who  are  more  or  less  imperiled.  It  is  like  calling  out 
the  militia  to  fire  upon  their  fellow  citizens — it  should 
not  be  expected  of  them. 

I  desire  to  emphasize  this  point: — It  is  a  mistake  to 
represent  the  laboring  people,  generally  speaking,  as  op- 
posed to  the  State  Police.  Laboring  men,  as  a  class,  are 
as  intelligent  as  any  other;  they  have  their  wives  and 
families  and  their  property.  And  a  man  with  a  small 
property  is.as  conservative  as  a  man  with  more.  This  is  not 
a  class  question  at  all — it  is  a  simple  question  of  law  and 
order.  The  growth  of  understanding  of  this  fact,  through 
experience,  has  broken  down  the  original  strong  prejudice 
of  the  laboring  class  in  this  region.  The  I.  W.  W.  movement 
has  finally  stimulated  their  realization  of  the  truth  that 
their  own  only  efficient  protectors  are  the  State  Police. 

I  favor  labor  in  securing  good  wages  and  good  working 
conditions,  but  my  sympathy  ends  where  violence  begins. 
And  the  best  element  of  labor  is  secretly,  if  not  openly, 
for  the  State  Police.  Many  are  intimidated  by  influences 
within  their  own  ranks  and  do  not  dare  to  express  their 
thought.  But  my  personal  knowledge,  here,  is  that  the 
average  working  man  who  tries  to  raise  his  family  decently 
stands  squarely  for  law  and  order  and  warmly  welcomes 
the  State  Police.  I  have  it  from  their  own  lips. 


352  Appendix  D 

Finally,  I  am  enthusiastically  in  favor  of  our  State  Police 
system.  I  hold,  however,  that  its  present  size  should  be 
five  or  six  times  increased. 

HONORABLE  H.  0.  BECHTEL  (Democrat), 
President  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Schuylkill 

County. 

June  21,  1916. 

I  have  been  on  the  bench  of  Schuylkill  County  for  nine 
years.  I  am  a  warm  admirer  of  the  State  Police  and  find  it, 
moreover,  of  extreme  usefulness  in  my  public  work.  In 
cases  where  I  am  to  pronounce  sentence,  for  example,  and 
where  I  desire  investigations  jnade,  I  have  only  to  telephone 
to  the  captain  of  our  Troop  asking  that  he  investigate  and 
report.  No  charge  is  incurred,  and  the  work  is  promptly 
and  perfectly  accomplished.  Any  needed  information 
may  be  arrived  at  by  this  means.  This  Court  has  power 
to  appoint  county  detectives,  but  we  do  not  do  so,  for  the 
reason  that  we  get  the  best  possible  service  from  the  State 
Police.  In  September,  1916, 1  tried  a  man  who  was  traced 
by  Sergeant  Harvey  J.  Smith  of  the  State  Police,  an  excel- 
lent detective,  for  three  thousand  miles,  to  Virginia,  to 
Kentucky,  and  finally  to  his  arrest  in  Long  Island,  New 
York. 

The  State  Police,  in  Court,  present  their  cases  very  well 
indeed.  They  are  exceedingly  painstaking,  they  are  not 
open  to  prejudice,  they  never  exhibit  feeling  when  testifying, 
and,  no  matter  how  severe  the  examination  may  be,  they 
never  strike  back. 

We  have  never  found  any  of  them  concerned  in  anything 
that  could  entail  criticism  of  their  honesty  or  integrity. 
No  complaint  has  ever  been  brought  into  this  court  against 
them.  At  no  time  have  they  used  undue  violence.  And 
they  are  miserably  underpaid. 

The  labor  men  were  at  first  opposed  to  the  Force  because 
they  did  not  understand  it.  Now  I  believe  that  their 


Appendix  D  353 

opposition  has  changed  to  approval,  because  of  the  daily 
proof  before  their  eyes.  The  officers  and  men  are  a  dis- 
tinctly superior  group.  Their  influence  has  all  been  for 
good,  and  they  are  an  invaluable  asset  to  every  worthy 
interest  in  the  community. 

HONORABLE  CHARLES  N.  BRUMM  (Republican), 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Schuylkill  County. 

June  21,  1916. 

I  am  deeply  interested  in  this  subject,  believing  it  to 
be  one  of  the  most  important  issues  now  before  the  Ameri- 
can people. 

At  first  I  was  opposed  to  the  creation  of  a  State  Con- 
stabulary, feeling  that  it  was  against  the  genius  of  Repub- 
lican institutions,  and  had  the  feature  of  centralization 
of  power.  But  since  I  have  been  on  the  Bench,  and  have 
observed  its  practical  workings,  I  am  assured  that  it  is  a 
wise,  humane  method  to  protect  the  true  interests  of  all  the 
people.  Our  State  constitutions  require  State  Executives  to 
protect  life,  liberty,  and  property  and  to  maintain  law  and 
order;  therefore  means  must  be  provided  to  enable  them  to 
perform  that  function.  The  best  possible  means  is  embodied 
in  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  Force. 

As  time  rolls  on,  the  efficiency  and  the  necessity  of  our 
State  Police  are  more  and  more  indisputably  demon- 
strated. Many  of  the  former  opponents  have  become 
wholly  converted  to  the  propriety  of  enlarging  the  numbers 
of  the  Force  and  of  increasing  their  pay. 

In  our  rural  sections,  with  our  heterogeneous  popu- 
lation and  with  the  prevalent  violation  of  the  liquor  laws, 
we  would  be  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of  criminals  of  all 
sorts,  but  for  the  protection  of  the  State  Police.  The  local 
civil  authority,  with  its  outgrown  mechanism,  is  entirely 
inadequate  to  cope  with  the  complex  needs  of  modern 
conditions.  Hardly  a  homicide  or  any  of  the  higher  felo- 
nies committed  in  this  region  in  latter  years  has  been  run 

23 


354  Appendix  D 

down  and  the  criminals  brought  to  Justice,  except  by  and 
through  the  active  work  of  the  State  Police. 

HONORABLE  RICHARD  HENRY  KOCH  (Republican), 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Schuylkill  County. 

June  19,  1916. 

The  Pennsylvania  State  Police  is  a  very  good  force,  a 
very  intelligent  instrumentality.  It  is  here  more  favorably 
regarded  than  any  body  of  constables,  or  even  of  soldiers, 
because  the  men  are  all  well  trained  for  their  particular 
work.  Most  of  them  have  served  in  the  army;  they  are 
alert,  careful,  exact,  and  are  educated  particularly  along  the 
line  of  their  own  duties;  they  know  what  to  do  and  how  to 
do  it.  No  constable  can  do  the  work  that  they  do.  What- 
ever they  undertake  they  always  do  well  and  they  seem  to 
be  insensible  to  fear. 

In  several  criminal  cases  the  defendants  could  not  have 
been  convicted  without  them.  A  murder  case,  in  which 
three  Italians  were  guilty,  was  tried  in  our  last  term;  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  State  Police  the  Italians  could  not 
have  been  convicted. 

The  State  Police  only  when  informed  of  a  case  undertake 
it.  They  do  the  detective  work,  arrest  the  parties  and 
bring  them  before  magistrates,  and  give  them  a  hearing. 
They  work  up  cases  very  often,  and  naturally  their  opera- 
tions diminish  crime.  Their  alertness,  speed,  and  persist- 
ence are  known,  therefore  their  mere  presence  is  a  deterrent 
to  criminals  in  any  region  in  which  they  are  placed. 

Their  presentation  of  cases  is  always  just;  they  do  not 
seem  to  be  personally  interested  as  are  detectives.  A 
detective's  success  depends  upon  his  work  and  he  is  looking 
for  a  victim;  the  State  Police  are  moved  rather  by  a  sense 
of  duty  and  of  justice.  I  would  trust  the  State  Police 
much  farther  than  a  detective  because  they  are  less  likely 
to  color  the  evidence.  The  one's  business  depends  upon 
his  success  in  individual  cases  and  the  other's  does  not. 


Appendix  D  355 

The  State  Police  seem  to  have  a  very  high  appreciation  of 
duty.  As  men  of  army  training  and  accustomed  to  disci- 
pline themselves,  they  know  both  how  to  take  and  how 
to  obey  orders;  no  man  can  govern  well  unless  he  has 
himself  learned  to  obey  well. 

The  State  Police  Force  has  a  great  many  enemies;  the 
lawless  are  of  course  against  it,  and  it  has  other  opponents, 
persons  not  openly  of  the  lawless  class,  but  who,  at  best, 
are  not  encouragers  of  law  and  order. 

You  will  find  the  bar  very  much  in  favor  of  the  State 
Police,  although  there  are  those  to  oppose  them  because 
they  think  it  a  means  of  gaining  popularity  in  some 
quarters. 

When  a  Troop  or  a  detail  is  removed  from  any  given  local- 
ity to  serve  elsewhere  the  people  dislike  very  much  to  see  it 
leave.  When  the  men  were  transferred  from  Reading  to 
this  county  the  people  in  Reading  were  very  much  opposed 
to  having  the  Troop  moved  from  there. 

The  State  Police  Force  should  certainly  be  doubled  in 
size. 

HONORABLE  LUCIEN  W.  DOTY  (Democrat), 
President  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  West- 
moreland County. 

November  8, 1916. 

My  opinion  of  our  State  Police  is  based  on  what  I  know 
about  the  members  of  the  Force  who  for  some  years  have 
been  stationed  at  Greensburg. 

I  have  tried  to  observe  closely  the  conduct  of  these  men, 
and  the  character  of  their  work,  because,  at  the  start,  for 
reasons  deemed  sufficient  but  of  no  interest  to  anybody 
else,  I  was  not  too  favorable  to  such  an  organization. 

But  I  confess  to  a  change  of  mind  regarding  the  State 
Police.  The  men  are  intelligent  and  thoroughly  trained 
for  the  work  they  are  expected  to  do. 

In  the  great  strike  of  1910  in  this  county  their  services 


356  Appendix  D 

were  invaluable.  In  every  way  they  seemed  far  more  useful 
and  efficient  than  untrained  deputy  sheriffs  who  were  called 
in  to  protect  property  and  quell  disturbance. 

They  also  have  been  found  very  skilful  in  the  detection 
of  crime  and  useful  in  the  gathering  of  evidence  to  be  used 
in  the  trial  of  cases  in  court,  and,  what  is  still  more  to  their 
credit,  they  seem  in  this  work  to  act  with  strict  impartiality. 
The  effort,  with  them,  is  not  to  secure  a  victim  but  to  assist 
in  the  due  execution  of  the  law. 


INDEX 

The  abbreviation  "  S.  P.  F.,"  following  names  in  this  Index  indicates 
that  the  bearers  are  members  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Police  Force. 


"A"  Troop,  25-28,  46-47,  67-68, 
78-79,211-213,327 

Accounts  and  disbursements,  245, 
290 

Act  creating  the  Department  of 
State  Police,  10,  n,  Appendix 
A;  amended,  202-203,  Appen- 
dix B;  attempted  repeal  of. 
See  Repeal  of  Act  attempted 

Adams,  Lynn  G.,  S.  P.  F.,  68, 
178,  215,  248,  321 

Adelson,  Lewis  L.,  S.  P.  F.,  75-76 

Agriculture,  Secretary  of.  See 
Patton,  C.  E.;  State  Board  of, 
resolutions  of,  274-276 

Alvis,  C.  S.,  S.  P.  F.,  317-318 

Ammon,  Robert,  S.  P.  F.,  318-319 

Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Com- 
mission, 3-5,  9 

Anthracite  Coal  Strike  of   1902, 

I-5 
Appeals   for    help,    general,    105, 

120,    130,   321-323 

Appointment  to  force,  290-291 

Argentine  Police.     See  Police 

Arms  of  the  State  Police,  30 

Arrests,  totals  of,  with  disposi- 
tions, 1905-15,  Appendix  C 

Attorney-General,    opinion    of. 
See    Brown,    F.    S.;    Deputy, 
quoted.     See  Davis,  H.  W. 

Auditor-General,  quoted.  See 
Powell,  A.  W. 

Austin  Flood,  203-207 

Australia,  the  Trooper  Police  of. 
See  Police 

Automobile  Club  of  Philadelphia. 
See  Davis,  S.  B. 

Automobile  Laws  enforced,  266- 
268 

Automobile  theft  service,  269-271 


B 


"B"  Troop,  28,  37,  65-66,  75-76; 

barracks     destroyed     by     fire, 

124;  231,  322-323 
Bechtel,    H.    O.,    judge,    quoted, 

352-353 
Berks     Assemblymen,      143-144, 

Berks  County  Agricultural  Society, 
145-146 

Bertolet,  Israel  M.,  145 

Bird  preservation  service,  34, 
107 

Black  Hand,  114-119,  351 

Black  Hussars,  175,  177,  182-183, 
184,  238,  240,  244,  277 

Blacksmiths,  Troop,  326-327 

Boston  Advertiser,  quoted,  60- 
61 

"Boston  Patch."     See  Riots 

Brown,  Francis  Shunk,  Attorney- 
General,  opinion  of,  245 

Brumbaugh,  Martin  G.,  the  Hon- 
orable Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, quoted,  245,  246 

Brumm,  Charles  N.,  judge, 
quoted,  353~354 

Bucket-shop  raids.     See  Raids 

Buller,  Nathan  R.,  Commissioner 
of  Fisheries,  261-264,  3O1 

Buono,  Lewis  D.,  S.  P.  F.,  155- 
156 

Burgettstown  Herald,  quoted, 
129 

Burglary,  See  Robberies 

Burns,  William  J.,  President 
International  Detective  Agency, 
quoted,  252 

Buss,  George  F.,  sheriff,  216,  217- 
221,  233,  234,  236 

Butler,  John  P.,  S.  P.  F.,  75- 
76 


357 


358 


Index 


'C"     Troop,     28,     36,     49-50; 
headquarters     removed,     140- 


146,  153,  323 
irlson, 


Carlson,  Albert,  S.  P.  F.,  120-123, 

218 
Chambers,  Homer  D.,  S.  P.  P., 

78,  109,  273 

Character  of  members  of  Force, 
iii,  vi,  21,  30-31,  35,  58-59,  64, 
184,    185,  250,  276,  277,  279, 
290-298,  308-309,  334-335,  347, 
349,  351,  352-353,  354-355 
Check,  S.  P.  F.,  320 
Chicago  Tribune,  quoted,  12-13 
Circus,  Hagenbeck- Wallace,  196 
Citizens'  Protective  Association  of 

Rostra ver,  316-317 
"City  Troop, "  First  Troop,  Phila- 
delphia   City   Cavalry,    16-17, 
202  note 

Clark,  Moses  N.,  201-202 
Clark,  William,  S.  P.  F.,  219 
Coal  and  Iron  Police.     See  Police 
Cocaine  traffic,  92 
Conklin,  Robert  S.,  Commissioner 

of  Forestry,  quoted,  101,  103 
Connellsville  Courier,  quoted,  79 
Conrad,  J.  A.,  S.  P.  F.,  309-310 
Constables  assisted,  67-68,320,350 
Constables'  fees,  67-68,  254,  320, 

348 
"Constabulary,"  a  misnomer,  36 

note,  289 
Convictions,    percentage    of,    to 

arrests,  126,  346 
Cornwall  riots.     See  Riots 
"Cossacks,"  42,  44,  54,  58,  66, 

83,  169-170,  183,  224-226,  241- 

242 
Cost  of  Force  as  related  to  value, 

125,  197,  244,  277 
County  fairs,  65-66,  260-261,  265, 

277 

Grassland,  F.,  S.  P.  F.,  49-50 
Cruelty  to  animals,  261 
Cunningham,    Robert    J.,    State 

Highway  Commissioner,  quoted, 

264-265,  266 


'D"  Troop,  28,  35-36,  108,  211- 
213;  headquarters  removed, 
196-197 


Davies,  Curtis  A.,  S.  P.  F.,  164- 
170 

Davis,  Horace  W.,  Deputy  Attor- 
ney-General, quoted,  245-250 

Davis,  S.  Boyer,  Secretary,  etc., 
Automobile  Club  of  Philadel- 
phia, quoted,  268-269 

Dearolf,  Claude  H.,  S.  P.  F.,  233, 
317 

Democratic  State  Convention  of 
1906,  resolution  of,  71 

Dempsey,  Dominick,  136-137, 139 

Deputy  Sheriffs,  misconduct  of, 
46,  81-82,  212-213,  213-214 

Deputy  Superintendent,  289 

Detective  work,  154-157,  249- 
250,  260-264,  298-299,  348, 
349,  350,  352,  354,  356 

Dimon,  Harry  C.,  S.  P.  F.,  37-38 

Discipline,  329 

Dismissal  from  State  Police  Force, 
293,  329 

District  Attorneys  assisted,  68- 
70,  115-116,  117-119,  301-302, 
319-320,  322,  348 

District  Attorneys,  opinions  of, 
302  note 

Dixon,  Samuel  G.,  Dr.,  206-207; 
quoted,  206,  252 

Doddridge,  Philip,  S.  P.  F.,  256- 

257 
Donohoe,  John  F.,  S.  P.  F.,  148- 

151 

Doty,  Lucien  W.,  judge,  quoted, 

355-356 
Dougherty,      Charles      Bowman, 

Maj.-Gen.,  quoted,  56-57,  277- 

279 
Dupont  church  riot.     See  Riot 


Economy  and  Efficiency  Com- 
mission, quoted,  244-245 

Eleanor  riots.     See  Riots 

Enlistment,  term  of,  must  be 
served  out,  198-199 

Ernest  riots.     See  Riots 


Farmers  assisted,  69,  71,  108,  127- 
128,  129,  142,  145-147,  156- 
157,  201,  258-260,  275-276, 
310,  311, 313-314,  315-317, 
319 


Index 


359 


Farmer's  opinions,  62,  64,  128, 
140-141,  145-147,201-202,258, 
274-276 

Farmers'  Protective  Association 
of  Kecksburg,  128 

Faurot,  J.  A.,  Chief  of  Detective 
Bureau  of  Police  Department 
of  New  York  City,  159;  quoted, 

251 

Federation  of  Labor,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 83,  136,  138-139,  209- 
210,  231-232 

Fencibles.     See  State  Fencibles 
Fire   service,    65,    100-101,    124, 

128,  145,  146,  312 
Fisheries,    commissioner   of.     See 

Buller,  N.  R. 
Flood.     See  Austin  Flood 
Foot-and-mouth  disease,  259 
Forest  Fire  service,  99-105,  124, 

195,  350 
Freas,  A.  M.,  judge,  quoted,  350- 

352 
Fuller,  Henry  A.,  judge,  quoted,  348 


Gambling,  65-66;  gambling  houses 

raided,   108-109 
Game  Preservation  Service,  106, 

107 
Game  wardens  arrested,  106,  299- 

301;     assisted,     65,      106-107; 

murdered,  106,  114 
Garland,  John  S.,  S.  P.  F.,  75-76 
Garwood,  Jesse  S.,  S.  P.  F.,  37, 

44,59 

General  Orders,  295-297,  320 

Glanders,  259-260 

Government  of  Force  by  general 
orders.  See  General  Orders 

Graham,  Robert,  S.  P.  F.,  298 

Greensburg  Press  quoted,  67 

Greensburg  Tribune,  quoted,  200, 
309-310 

Groome,  John  C.,  Major,  vii, 
14-20,  22,  24-25,  26,  31,  33, 
49-50,  58-59, 62,82-83, 1 19-120, 
125,  133-134,  140-142,  143, 
176-177,  179,  188,  191,  198- 
199,  202  note,  202-203,  207- 
208,  213,  242-243,  253,  265, 
266,  278,  285-286,  289,  290, 
292,  293,  295,  296-297,  301, 
327,329,334-335 


Harris,  T.  M.,  S.  P.  F.,  47 
Harrisburg  Independent,  quoted, 

266 
Harrisburg  Patriot,  quoted,   138, 

200 
Harrisburg     Telegraph,     quoted, 

15,  21,  125,  128-129,  157-158, 

200 
Headquarters  of  the  Department, 

289-290 
Headquarters     of     troops.      See 

Location 
Health     Commissioner     of.     See 

Dr.  Samuel  G.  Dixon 
Health  officers  assisted,  79,   109, 

205-207,  253,  254-257 
Hershey,  Frank  A.,  S.  P.  F.,  70, 

271 
Hickey,  Edward  J.,  S.  P.  F.,  148- 

151 

Highway  Commissioner,  State, 
quoted.  See  Cunningham,  R. 

Highway  Department  assisted, 
265-268 

Horses  of  the  State  Police  Force, 
26,  27,  27  note,  84,  178,  183- 
184,  192,  219,  304,  326-327 

Horse-stealing,  67,  153-157,  158- 

159,318-319 
Hosford,  H.  Lindley,  quoted,  206, 

253 
Houck,  Henry,  Dr.,  Secretary  of 

Internal  Affairs,  quoted,  276- 

277 

Howell,  Samuel,  ix,  xiii-xv 
Hughestown  riot.     See  Riot 
Humer,  Grant,  S.  P.  F.,  312 
Humer,  Ross  W.,  S.  P.  F.,  218 


I 


Immigrants  respect  no  law  save 
Law  made  Visible,  32-33,  47- 
48,  51,  135,  141,  221 

Increase  in  size  of  Force  desired, 
85,  103-104,  125,  128-129,  129, 

146,186,  195,  222,  242-243,  244- 

245,  249,  257,  263-264,  274- 

276,  279,  288,  347,  352,  353, 

Industrial  Workers  of  the  World, 
224-226,  227-242 


Index 


Internal  Affairs,  secretary  of.     See 

Houck,  H. 
Irish  Constabulary,  19,  20 


Jacobs,  Charles,  S.  P.  F.,  311-312 
Johnstown  Democrat,  quoted,  77 
Jones,  Lucian  P.,  S.  P.  F.,  133-134 
Judges  of  the  Courts  of  Common 

Pleas,    opinions   of,    154,    303, 

Appendix  D 

K 

Kalbfus,  Joseph,  Dr.,  Secretary 
Game  Commission,  105-106, 
107 

Keely,  Wallace  K.,  S.  P.  F.,  158- 

159,  312-313 
"  Keg-parties, "  62-64 
Kelleher,  Timothy,  S.  P.  F.,  no 
Kerr,  James,  71,  83 
Kitch,  George  M.,  S.  P.  F.,  133- 

Kodi,  W.  J.,  S.  P.  F.,  49 

Koch,     Richard    Henry,     judge, 

quoted,  354~355 
Kozak,  John  V.,  Mayor  of  Wilkes- 

Barre,  223-224,  233 


Legal  training  of  the  Force,  299- 

393 

Legislative  campaigns  and  history, 
1907,  80,  83-85;  1909,  143-147; 
1911,  147,  199,  201-203;  1913, 
209-210,  232;  1915,  209,  283 

Liquor  traffic,  illicit,  64,  66,  319- 
320,  353 

Liquor,  use  of,  prohibited  in  the 
Service,  30,  293,  320 

Livestock  Sanitary  Board,  State, 
service  to,  256-260 

Location  of  troop  headquarters, 
22,  23,  28,  31,  32,  33 

Low,  ^Seth,  the  Honorable,  xvi- 
xvii 

Lumb,  George  F.,  S.  P.  F.,  80- 
82,  116,  303 

Lumbermens'  Association,  Penn- 
sylvania, resolution  of,  195 

Lutheran  Synod,  Susquehanna, 
resolution  of,  54-55 

Lynching  prevented,  96-98 


M 

McCall,  John  J.,  S.  P.  F.,  69 
McDonald,  S.  J.,  136-137 
McGarigle,  Charles  J.,  S.  P.  F., 

92,  94 
McGovern,  Francis  J.,  Monsignor, 

quoted,   323-324 

McKee's  Rocks  riots.     See  Riots 
McLaughlin,  T.  J.,  S.  P.  F.,  148- 

151,  320 
McPherson,  A.  A.,  S.  P.  F.,  309- 

310 

Maniac,  68,  120-123 
Marksmanship,  297-298 
Marriage  in  the  Force,  296-297 
Marsh,  William,  S.  P.  F.,  118 
Marshall,  Clarence  J.,  Dr.,  State 

Veterinarian,  quoted,  256-261 
Massachusetts     Commission     on 
Military    Education    and    Re- 
serve, 1915,  report  of,  281-283 
Maughan,  John,  S.  P.  F.,  124,  190- 

193 

Maxims  of  the  Force,  24-25,  59, 

135.  329 

Middletown  Journal,  quoted,  267 
Mileage,  yearly,  of  Force,  346 
Miller,  Adam  H.,  146 
Miller,  James,  S.  P.  F.,  158-159 
Miller,  Charles  M.,  S.  P.  F.,  49 
Milwaukee  Sentinel,  quoted,  53- 

54 
Misconduct  of  Members  of  Force, 

allegations  of,  294-295 
Mitchell,  John,  3,  53-54 
Mobility  of  Force,  176 
Moore,  H.  G.,  S.  P.  F.,  271,  298 
Mother    Superior,    complaint   of, 

1 08 
Motors  and  motorcycles  desirable 

for  Force,  327-328 
Mount  Carmel  riots.     See  Riots 
Mounting   the  Force  imperative, 

26,  327 
Mullen,  William  J.,  S.  P.  F.,  205- 

206 
Murders,  108,  110-113,  147-152 


N 


National  Guard,  1-2,  3,  16,  21, 
35,  55-57,  85,  175,  205,  206, 
278-288,  350;  called  out  on 
riot  duty  for  first  time  in  ten 


Index 


361 


National  Guard — Continued 
years,  statement  of  Adjutant- 
General's  office  concerning  cost, 
etc.,  of  this  tour,  284-285 
New  Bethlehem  Vindicator,  129 
New  Florence  tragedy,  78 
New  York  Evening  Post,  quoted, 

11-12,  16,  36,  85,  186-187 
New  York  Outlook,  quoted,  16 
New  York  Sun,  quoted,  134,  135, 

182 

New  York  World,  quoted,  172-175 
Nicholson,  C.  B.,  S.  P.  F.,  298 
Non-commissioned    officers,    per- 
centage of  in  Force,  325-326 
North-West    Mounted   Police  of 

Canada.     See  Police 
Nugent,  Hunter  T.,  S.  P.  F.,  108 


O'Boyle,  Peter  A.,  judge,  quoted, 

349-350 
O'Donnell,  Patrick  S.,  S.  P.  F., 

133-134 

Old        Forge,     See        Industrial 

Workers  of  the  World 
Organization  of  Force,  19,  289-303 
Organized  labor  appeals  to  State 
Police  for  protection,  130,  224, 
226,   227,   231,   233,   350,   351; 
as  distinguished  from  its  agi- 
tators, not    opposed    to  State 
Police,  138,  350,  351,  352-353 


Page,  J.  W.,  S.  P/F.,  50,  116 
Patrol  service,  61-62,  63,  65,  78, 

87,    107,    123-124,    127,    140, 

253,  270,  306-314,  324-325 
Patterson,  Francis  D.,  Dr.,  20,  21 
Patton,  Charles  E.,  Secretary  of 

Agriculture,  quoted,  274 
Pay  of  the  State  Police  Force,  26, 

125,    129,    186,    197-198,    200, 

201,    202-203,    333-334,    35i, 

352,  353  , 
Pennsylvania,    area    of,    7,    20; 

State    College,     President    of. 

See  Sparks,  E.  E. 
Pennypacker,    Samuel  Whitaker, 

5-10,  14-15,  1 8 
" Pennypacker's  Cossacks."     See 

"Cossacks" 


Personnel,     original,     20-22,     24 

et  seq.,  30-31 
Philadelphia  Bulletin, quoted,  279- 

280 

Philadelphia  Car  Strike.     See  Riot 
Philadelphia  Inquirer,  quoted,  17, 

191,    195,  221-222 

Philadelphia     North      American, 

quoted,  114-115,  181,  206-208, 

211,  241,  312-313 
Philadelphia    Press,    quoted,    39, 

50-51,  85,  134-135,  194 
Philadelphia        Public        Ledger, 

quoted,  50,  53,  55;  cartoon,  86, 

133,   182,   185,   191,   199,    236- 

237,   280 
Philadelphia  Record,  quoted,  235- 

236 
Philadelphia    Telegraph,    quoted, 

38,  51,  85,  135,  171-172,  183- 

184,  1 86 
Phillips,  B.  S.,  sheriff,  225,  237- 

239,  240-241 

Physical    examination   of   candi- 
dates, 20-21,  290 
Pickpockets,  65 
Pitcher,  Leon  S.,  S.  P.  F.,  217- 

219,  225,  226 
Pittsburgh       Chronicle-Telegraph, 

quoted,  200 
Pittsburgh  Dispatch,  quoted,  n  8- 

119 

Pittsburgh  Gazette,  quoted,  15 
Pittston  Gazette,  quoted,  77 
Platinum  theft,  164-170 
Poachers,  65,  315-316 
Police  of  Argentine,  vi 
Police  of  Australia,  the  Trooper, 

19 

Police,  Borough,  assisted,  321 
Police   Chiefs,    State   Association 

of.     See  Tillard,  J.  N. 
Police  of  cities  assisted,  171-187, 

188-195,   223-224,   250-251 
Police,   Coal  and   Iron,   vii,   viii, 

2,      3-4,       8-9;      North-West 

Mounted,  of    Canada,    vi,    19, 

252,   329 

Politics  debarred  in  the  Force, 
viii,  1 8,  147,  295-296 

Posse.     See  Sheriff's 

Post-office  robbery,  108 

Potter,  William  P.,  Justice  Su- 
preme Court  of  Penna.,  quoted, 
347 


362 


Index 


Pottsville  Chronicle,  quoted,  323 

Pottsville  Journal,  quoted,  184- 
185,  201 

Pottsville  Republica  n,  quoted,  21  o, 
312 

Powell,  Archibald  W.,  Auditor- 
General,  quoted,  245,  286-287 

Preparedness,  222 

Preventive  effect,  upon  crime, 
126-127 

Price,  Wilson  C.,  S.  P.  P.,  109, 
233-234,  238-239,  241,  271,  321, 
331-332 

Promotion  in  the  Force,  29 1-292 

Protective  Association.  See  Citi- 
zens, and  See  Farmers' 

Prynn,  Mark  A.,  S.  P.  F.,  108 

Punishment  by  court-martial  only, 
292-293 

Punxsutawney  Spirit,  67-68,  197 

Pursuit  of  criminals:  rape,  90- 
98;  murder,  110-113;  horse 
theft,  154-157',  robbery,  159- 
163;  platinum  theft,  164-169, 
352 

Q 

Quarantine  service,  79,  109,  255- 
257,  258-260 


Rabies,  79 

Raids,  Wireton,  69-70;  gambling- 
houses,  108-109;  Barnesboro, 
117;  I.  W.  W.'s  at  Old  Forge, 
238-241 ;  bucket-shops,  246- 

249 

Rape,  88,  89;  Major  Groome's 
statement  concerning,  89-90; 
96,  108,  no,  318 

Reading,  barracks  removed  from, 
140-146;  Board  of  Trade,  141- 
142;  boulevard,  preserved,  78; 
Eagle,  quoted,  142;  Herald, 
quoted,  63-64,  66,  143;  Mer- 
chants' Association,  141-142; 
Telegram,  quoted,  142;  Times, 
quoted,  143 

Recruit  school.     See  School 

Red  Cross,  National  Director  of, 
quoted,  207-208 

Regular  Army,  personnel  of  Force 
largely  drawn  from,  22,  27, 
58-59,  208,  292,  308-309 


Removal  of  Troop,  people's  pro- 
test against,  141-144,  145-147, 

196-197,  355 

Repeal  of  Act,  attempted,  39, 
84-86,  129,  136-139 

Report  of  the  Superintendent  for 
1906,  83-84;  1907,  119-120, 
127;  1908,  119-120,  125,  128; 
1909,  126-127;  1910,  197-198 

Reports  of  Troop  Commanders, 
289-290 

Riots,  Punxsutawney,  35-36; 
Cornwall,  36;  Boston  Patch, 
37-38,  59;  Franklin  Colliery, 
40-41;  Windber,  44-46;  Mount 
Carmel,  48-57;  Ernest,  60; 
Hughestown,  73-78;  Eleanor, 
80-83;  McKee's  Rocks,  131- 
135;  Philadelphia  Car  Strike, 
171-187;  Bethlehem  Steel 
Strike,  188-195;  Westmoreland 
County,  211-213;  Dupont 
Church,  216,  217-222,  234; 
Wilkes-Barre  Street-Car  Strike, 
223-224 

Riot  duty,  time  actually  spent  on, 
by  State  Police,  217 

Robberies,  108,  109,  124,  145, 
146,  159-163,  164-170,  317-318 

Robinson,  J.  P.,  S.  P.  F.,  188,  190, 

195 

Robinson,  V.  Gilpin,  199 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  Colonel,  v- 

ix,  3,  78 
Rutherford,  Frank  B.,  President 

Federated     Humane    Societies, 

quoted,  261 
Ryan,  J.,  S.  P.  F.,  120-123 


St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press,  quoted, 
12 

Salsburg,  Abram,  District  Attor- 
ney of  Luzerne  County,  116 

Schmaltz,  Jacob,  73-74 

School,  Recruit,  290-291;  Troop, 
27-28,  292,  297,  298-299,  303 

Scranton,  Central  Labor  Union  of, 
136-138 

Scrantonian,  quoted,  227-231 

Scranton  Republican,  quoted,  220, 
239-240 

Scranton  Times,  quoted,  136-137 

Scranton    Tribune,    53,    137-138 


Index 


363 


Secret     Service.     See     Detective 

Work 
Sheriff  assisted,  35,  36,  46-47,  50, 

60,  Soetseq.,  109,  131,  188,  194, 

217-221,    225-226,    234,    238- 

240,  348 
Sheriff-Constable  system,  2,  7-8, 

12-13,  252,  262,  349,  351,  353- 

354 

Sheriff,  misconduct  of,  211-213 
Sheriff's  posse,  12-13,  45 
Shields,  John  E.,  211-213 
Shomo,  Joseph  N.,  145-146 
Simonds,    B.    S.,    Prof.,    quoted, 

324-325 

Smallpox.     See  Quarantine 
Smith,  C.  P.,  S.  P.  F.,  49 
Smith,  Harvey  J.,  S.  P.  F.,  154- 

156,  159-163,  352 
Smith,  Herbert,  S.  P.  F.,  109,  233 
Smith,  Jack  C.,  S.  P.  F.,  133-134 
Snyder,  B.  C.,  P.  F.,  298 
Snyder,  Walter  C.,  S.  P.  F.,  49, 

99,  100,  123 
Sparks,  Edwin  E.,  Dr.,  President 

Pennsylvania     State     College, 

quoted,  276 

Springfield  Republican,  12 
State  Fencibles,  171-172,  187 
State  Police  Force  goes  on  active 

duty,  23;  purpose  of,  33, J*. 

210-211,253-254 
Stein  Bill,  the,  209-210,  231-232 
Sterner,  Milton  K.,  S.  P.  F.,  108 
Stevenson,  Ira  C.,  S.  P.  F.,  218, 

Stillwell,  Walter  G.,  S.  P.  F.,  155- 

156 
Strauss,      Seligman     J.,      judge, 

quoted,  348~349 
Strike  service.     See  Riots 
Strikers,  rights  of,  protected  by 

State  Police,  80-83,  130,  215 
Strobel,  J.  P.,  S.  P.  F.,  298 
Stuart,  Edwin  S.,  Governor,  85, 

129,  175 

Substations,    87,   304-314;    loca- 
tion of,  305 

Sunday,  John,  constable,  41-44 
Superintendent.       See     Groome, 
John  C. 


Tener,  John  K.,  Governor,  202 


Texas  Rangers,  viii,  19 

Theft.     See  Robberies 

Tillard,    J.    N.,    President   State 

Association    of    Police    Chiefs, 

quoted,  250-251 
Tipton,  R.  A.,  S.  P.  F.,  123 
Towanda  Review,  quoted,  267 
Training  of  State  Police  trooper, 

time  required  for,  243,  292 
Trespass  by  hunters,  64,  100,  315- 

317 

Trexler,  John  L.,  146 
Troop    reports.     See   Reports   of 
Troop  Commanders 


U 


Uniform  of  the  State  Police,  29- 

30,  177,  192-193 
Uniontown  Herald,  quoted,  267 
United  Mine  Workers  of  America, 
38-39,  77-78,  83,  130,  224-226, 
227,  240;  protected  by  the  State 
Police,    81-83,     130,    224-226, 
231-233,  234,  235,  320,  350 


Van  Reed,  Wellington,  145 

Van  Voorhees,  John  S.,  S.  P.  P., 

100 
Veterinary  officers,  State,  assisted, 

79,  258-260 
Violation   of   Liquor   Laws.     See 

Liquor  Traffic 

W 

Wadanoli,  Peter,  S.  P.  F.,  111-112 
Wads  worth,    Charles,    Rev.    Dr., 

quoted,  54 

Walsh,  John  T.,  S.  P.  F.,  99,  108 
Walters,  Elaine  G.,  S.  P.  F.,  219- 

221,  318 
Ward,  Matthew,  T.  E.,  S.  P.  F., 

60 

Warner,  P.  A.,  S.  P.  F.,  108 
Washington  Observer,  quoted,  316 
Watts,  R.  D.,  S.  P.  F.,  298 
Weaver,  E.  M.,  Colonel  U.  S.  A., 

Chief      Federal      Division     of 

Militia    Affairs,    quoted,    279- 

280 
Wedge,  Isaiah,  147-152 


364 


Index 


Weichard,  Thomas  P.,  S.  P.  P., 

108,  248 

Whitman,  Charles  S.,  The  Honor- 
able, Governor  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  xvii 

Wilhelm,  C.  M.,  S.  P.  P.,  40-41,  76 
Wilkes-Barre   News,   quoted,    15, 

267-268 

Wilkes-Barre  Record,  quoted,  235 
Wilkes-Barre    Street-Car    Strike 

Service.     See  Riots 
Wilkes-Barre  Times,  quoted,  44 
Williams,  John  L.,  S.  P.  P.,  133- 

134 
Windber  riots.     See  Riots 


Wireton  raid.     See  Raid 

Wirt,  George  A.,  Chief  Forest 
Fire  Warden,  quoted,  103-105 

Wood,  Leonard,  Major-General, 
U.  S.  A.,  quoted,  281 

Woods,  Arthur,  Police  Com- 
missioner of  New  York  City, 
quoted,  251 

Woodward,  J.  B.,  judge,  quoted, 
350 


Zeidler,  Henry,  136 


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